1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,800 I have to admit I was in a bit of a state of denial this past week. 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:08,700 I kept thinking to myself, okay, doing a summary message of John is going to be nothing but 3 00:00:08,700 --> 00:00:11,160 delightful and easy. 4 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:14,380 Turns out it was delightful but not at all easy. 5 00:00:14,380 --> 00:00:18,680 How do you summarize two years' worth of material in just one message? 6 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:23,080 And obviously you can't, but what I'm going to try to do this morning is help us remember 7 00:00:23,080 --> 00:00:27,480 some of the key things that we learned together throughout this series. 8 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:31,800 And I'm hoping that as we go along your memories get jogged in the best way possible, that 9 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:36,240 your hearts are both convicted and encouraged as we go along, that you have some of those 10 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:40,640 aha moments where you're like, oh yeah, that's right, I remember when we were in that particular 11 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:41,640 chapter. 12 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:48,020 By the way, I went back and I looked in our archives at the first message in this series 13 00:00:48,020 --> 00:00:49,280 and I watched it. 14 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:54,200 It was back on August 23rd of 2020. 15 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:59,960 And I say watch because our first message in this series came from our studio at the 16 00:00:59,960 --> 00:01:05,120 height of the COVID-19 scare when we had no place to gather and we were all sort of huddled 17 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:10,500 around our TVs and our computers trying to stay as connected as humanly possible. 18 00:01:10,500 --> 00:01:11,960 And what a crazy time that was. 19 00:01:11,960 --> 00:01:16,320 And I'm so grateful to the Lord that we came through it so well as a body just trusting 20 00:01:16,320 --> 00:01:19,640 in Him and showing great grace and patience towards one another. 21 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:21,040 But it was a crazy time. 22 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:28,400 So I went back and watched that first message in the series and I laughed so hard when I 23 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:29,400 looked at it. 24 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:31,040 I'm going to show you why in a second. 25 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:36,400 As we were launching from our studio, we were still trying to figure out how to make that 26 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:40,880 work, how to design the set and prep it for a live stream. 27 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:49,080 And so here's a picture of what the live stream looked like when we came on. 28 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:50,080 And you know what? 29 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:51,960 Kudos to Alex. 30 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:55,320 It was lit really well. 31 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:58,240 I mean it's my face, but that's a whole other issue. 32 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:02,020 But look at the painting behind my right shoulder. 33 00:02:02,020 --> 00:02:07,160 What happened was is right before the live stream went on, when the red light came on, 34 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:10,760 it slipped and came down like that. 35 00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:15,000 And what happened was so I started preaching and about eight minutes in we went to my first 36 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:17,920 slide so the camera cut away from me. 37 00:02:17,920 --> 00:02:20,680 And I'm up there trying to focus on my message, right? 38 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:23,800 And it's already weird because I'm staring at a camera, not an audience. 39 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:25,980 It was just really hard. 40 00:02:25,980 --> 00:02:30,280 And so I don't know what's going on behind me, but this big amount of noise starts happening 41 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:34,440 behind me and I turn around and somebody's trying to fix that sign. 42 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:36,240 And it's not happening. 43 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:39,440 Every time, I think it may have been Stacey or somebody ran back there was trying to fix 44 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:45,100 it and meanwhile I'm stretching my description of the slide that's now on the screen because 45 00:02:45,100 --> 00:02:47,400 I hear all this noise behind me. 46 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:49,200 It doesn't work. 47 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:53,880 So when it comes back, it looks like this. 48 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:56,240 And the rest of the message was like this. 49 00:02:56,240 --> 00:02:57,320 Amazing. 50 00:02:57,320 --> 00:02:58,800 The miracle of television. 51 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:00,680 Anyway, what a great memory. 52 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:03,280 So here we are two and a half years later. 53 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:04,280 It's nuts. 54 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:09,480 If my math is correct, this is message 103 in the series. 55 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:14,260 And I did again, I'm not a math guy, but I did some calculations at an average length 56 00:03:14,260 --> 00:03:18,080 of 50 minutes, no comments from Adam, 50 minutes. 57 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:22,980 That means you all have endured 86 hours of teaching from John's gospel. 58 00:03:22,980 --> 00:03:24,960 So give yourselves a hand. 59 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:26,920 Well done. 60 00:03:26,920 --> 00:03:31,240 And then just for fun, I started calculating the amount of time that I spent in study and 61 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:33,520 prep for those 103 messages. 62 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:36,560 And it's just over 3000 hours. 63 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:38,400 And I'm not complaining in the least. 64 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:39,880 Trust me, in fact, quite the opposite. 65 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:44,160 It was nothing but a blessing and a privilege for me every step of the way. 66 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:45,680 You've probably heard this before. 67 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:48,680 Who learns the most in a preaching series? 68 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:50,680 The guy who has to study to preach it. 69 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:51,680 Right? 70 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:52,680 And that is true. 71 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:56,120 And so the Lord has shown me so much in the last two and a half years and grown me in 72 00:03:56,120 --> 00:03:58,760 so many ways through this study. 73 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:02,280 And so I hope it's been the same for you, but I thank him for all that. 74 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:03,280 Okay. 75 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:04,280 Grab your Bibles. 76 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:06,000 We got to dive into it because we got lots to do this morning. 77 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:10,680 You know that I skipped over two verses back in chapter 20, knowing we'd come back here 78 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:12,520 today. 79 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:18,320 And then we're going to look at the final two verses in the last chapter in John chapter 80 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:19,320 21. 81 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:23,240 So we're going to jump around a little bit and then we're going to do a flyover. 82 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:24,320 So this should be interesting. 83 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:29,400 If there's one thing that really irritates me, it's deceptive advertising. 84 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:33,800 Or people who just don't come out straight and tell me what their goal is when they're 85 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:34,800 talking to me. 86 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:37,480 They're selling something, but they're not getting to the point. 87 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:40,720 I'd much prefer they just come out and tell me, here's the goal. 88 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:43,920 And even if it's a difficult thing to hear, that's what I would like. 89 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:46,700 And the apostle John does this in his gospel. 90 00:04:46,700 --> 00:04:52,000 He tells you, he's very clear about his intent and purpose for writing down his gospel. 91 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:58,200 And you see that here in the passage in chapter 20, verses 30 and 31. 92 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:04,080 Now just before this, John has finished relaying the story of Thomas to us, right? 93 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:08,280 Who confirms that Jesus has been resurrected from the dead with those famous words, my 94 00:05:08,280 --> 00:05:10,840 Lord and my God, right? 95 00:05:10,840 --> 00:05:17,400 And then verse 30 says, therefore many other signs, many other signs Jesus also performed 96 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:22,520 in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book. 97 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:26,560 And by using this phrase in this book, what that tells us that in that moment, John sort 98 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:30,840 of stood back and looked at all that he had written and he's letting us, the audience 99 00:05:30,840 --> 00:05:35,280 know that, gosh, there were so many things I could have said or could have written, but 100 00:05:35,280 --> 00:05:37,600 this is what the Spirit led me to share. 101 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:42,600 And so these are some of the many signs that point us toward the truth about who Jesus 102 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:43,600 is. 103 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:48,560 Then he goes on in verse 31, but these, meaning the signs that I did select and shared in 104 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:53,800 my book, these have been written so that you may believe, that's the title of our whole 105 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:54,980 series, right? 106 00:05:54,980 --> 00:06:02,360 That you may believe that Jesus is the Christ or the Messiah, the Son of God, and that believing 107 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:03,880 you may have life in his name. 108 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:05,000 So there it is, right? 109 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:09,720 There is his entire intent and purpose of writing down this gospel. 110 00:06:09,720 --> 00:06:14,920 It's twofold, that all who read his account would believe that Jesus is who he claimed 111 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:19,200 to be all along, the Christ or the Messiah, that he is the one and only unique Son of 112 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:20,200 God. 113 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:24,640 And number two, that through believing, and by that I mean through genuine faith and trust 114 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:30,880 in Jesus alone, that you would take hold of eternal life forever and ever. 115 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:32,920 Now flip over to chapter 21. 116 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:38,920 Let's finish the last two verses of that chapter, the last two verses of the entire book. 117 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:47,160 Chapter 21 verse 24, John sums up by saying, this is the disciple who is testifying to 118 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:48,160 these things. 119 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:52,640 Remember we've seen throughout this series, John never mentions his own name, right? 120 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:55,660 He speaks of himself but never mentions his name. 121 00:06:55,660 --> 00:07:00,160 This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things and we 122 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:03,100 know that his testimony is true. 123 00:07:03,100 --> 00:07:07,840 Now what should jump off the page there is who's the we in that last phrase? 124 00:07:07,840 --> 00:07:09,880 We know that his testimony is true, right? 125 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:13,400 John says, I'm the guy who testifies to all this. 126 00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:18,700 I've seen it with my own eyes and we know that what I've just written is true. 127 00:07:18,700 --> 00:07:19,960 So who's he including in that? 128 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:23,360 There's two options historically that scholars have chosen. 129 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:27,360 Number one, remember where is John writing from and when? 130 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:29,640 Somewhere around the year 90 from Ephesus. 131 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:34,740 So the events he's writing about here took place 50 years before he wrote this down. 132 00:07:34,740 --> 00:07:37,840 So there's time between the events and his writing. 133 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:39,200 So there's time to reflect. 134 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:44,400 So one option is he could be saying, we the church know that this testimony is true and 135 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:49,520 that's the church at Ephesus or the church collectively having 50 years now to look back 136 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:53,360 on it, we know this testimony is true, right? 137 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:57,960 Or second option, John's referring to his fellow disciples and he's done this before. 138 00:07:57,960 --> 00:07:59,640 He did it in chapter one. 139 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:03,560 The ones who are eyewitnesses to the life of Christ and in that case he'd be saying, 140 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:08,200 we together as his disciples, we know that this testimony is true. 141 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:13,320 Remember back in chapter one, John said, the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we 142 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:15,400 saw his glory, an editorial we. 143 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:21,120 In other words, we, those who walked with him, saw his glory up close and personal. 144 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:22,680 Let's keep going, verse 25. 145 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:26,400 And there are also many other things which Jesus did. 146 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:31,160 So he repeats here in chapter 21 what he said at the end of chapter 20, that there are many 147 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:34,200 other things I could have talked about, right? 148 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:38,920 He says there are many other things which Jesus did which if they were written in detail, 149 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:44,660 I suppose even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written. 150 00:08:44,660 --> 00:08:48,720 Now is that hyperbole? 151 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:49,720 Some people think so. 152 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:52,200 Some people think he's using a figure of speech here, right? 153 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:54,220 Common day language and that's possible. 154 00:08:54,220 --> 00:08:58,340 But then when you really start to think about this and I spent some time this week just 155 00:08:58,340 --> 00:09:00,940 meditating on this, started really thinking about it. 156 00:09:00,940 --> 00:09:05,320 What if John had written down every single thing about his life with Jesus? 157 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:06,320 Think about it. 158 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:12,600 Over three years together, in full detail, all of his teaching, all of his interactions, 159 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:18,680 every conversation they had, every day-to-day activity they shared together in traveling 160 00:09:18,680 --> 00:09:22,500 across the land of Israel, every single part of it. 161 00:09:22,500 --> 00:09:24,880 What if he'd done this? 162 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:26,920 I want you to think about this for a second. 163 00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:28,880 And it hit me this week as I was considering it. 164 00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:32,200 I actually saw somebody else make a note of this. 165 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:36,840 It said if you calculate the number of days that John spent with Jesus, say three years 166 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:40,080 or roughly a thousand days, okay? 167 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:41,080 Do the math. 168 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:43,880 Like, a thousand days that they spent together. 169 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:48,120 And then you go through John's Gospel and you count the number of days that John actually 170 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:51,120 describes in his account. 171 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:56,400 What's the percentage of time do you think John actually describes out of those thousand 172 00:09:56,400 --> 00:10:00,060 days? 173 00:10:00,060 --> 00:10:01,760 It's very few. 174 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:04,280 It's very, very few. 175 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:06,600 History nerds have looked at this really carefully, okay? 176 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:09,600 I'm making fun of history nerds, which is ironic. 177 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:13,760 They've looked at it very carefully and they have said of the a thousand days, there's 178 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:17,520 about twenty days described in the Gospel of John. 179 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:22,520 Because you know from chapters thirteen to twenty, it's all the upper room, right? 180 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:27,200 Twenty days out of a thousand that John describes. 181 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:29,080 That's two percent. 182 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:33,480 John writes about two percent of his experiences with Jesus in this Gospel. 183 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:35,560 So it's a small sampling. 184 00:10:35,560 --> 00:10:40,280 Based on just some key events that took place on a relatively small number of days. 185 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:45,480 Had he written about the other ninety-eight percent in detail, can you imagine? 186 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:48,800 We talk about multi-volume sets of commentaries. 187 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:51,560 Imagine how massive this Gospel would have been. 188 00:10:51,560 --> 00:10:52,680 It would have been huge. 189 00:10:52,680 --> 00:10:57,040 But even more interesting to think about, and this may be where John is angling, can 190 00:10:57,040 --> 00:11:05,040 you even employ human language to describe a being who is eternal and limitless? 191 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:06,800 How do you do that? 192 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:13,120 What amount of words can be employed to describe a being who is actually beyond our comprehension? 193 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:14,640 Is that what John was referring to here? 194 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:17,480 D.A. Carson in his commentary is how he says about it. 195 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:22,520 He says, the Jesus to whom John bears witness is not only the obedient Son of God and the 196 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:28,920 risen Lord, he is the incarnate Word, the one through whom the universe was created. 197 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:30,760 Sometimes we forget that. 198 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:36,480 If all his deeds were described, the world would be a very small and inadequate library 199 00:11:36,480 --> 00:11:38,600 indeed. 200 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:41,200 Let that sort of blow your mind. 201 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:47,480 Because of who Jesus is, it couldn't contain all the information about him from a human 202 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:48,980 perspective. 203 00:11:48,980 --> 00:11:53,260 But the fact of the matter is the ancients didn't write massive biographies. 204 00:11:53,260 --> 00:11:54,260 They just didn't. 205 00:11:54,260 --> 00:11:56,560 You can search and search and you won't find them. 206 00:11:56,560 --> 00:11:57,560 Why? 207 00:11:57,560 --> 00:11:59,840 Because resources were sparse. 208 00:11:59,840 --> 00:12:04,000 And because if you were going to copy a work, it had to be done by hand. 209 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:07,400 You couldn't just hit, what is that, Alt C? 210 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:08,400 Is it Alt C? 211 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:09,400 Command C? 212 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:10,400 Command C? 213 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:11,400 Command V? 214 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:13,400 Did I get that right? 215 00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:14,400 Shortcuts. 216 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:17,040 Anyway, you couldn't just copy and paste. 217 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:18,680 So they didn't write these massive books. 218 00:12:18,680 --> 00:12:23,240 Today you can go on Amazon, you can buy a 500 page biography of Abraham Lincoln. 219 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:26,600 And that's fine because they can be run off very simply. 220 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:28,520 But that wasn't the case back in the day. 221 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:31,000 So you just don't find them. 222 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:34,860 Ancient documents across all walks of life, historical, legal, religious, they were always 223 00:12:34,860 --> 00:12:36,960 kept short and to the point. 224 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:42,180 And from John's perspective, and he says it here in these verses, it wasn't necessary 225 00:12:42,180 --> 00:12:47,960 to write everything down in order to give us enough evidence to come to the right conclusion, 226 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:50,520 which is to believe. 227 00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:56,020 Having read and perhaps even possessing his own copy of the other three gospels, John 228 00:12:56,020 --> 00:12:59,520 decided to write from a fourth perspective. 229 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:04,280 Now he chose to repeat some of the essentials of the story that he felt needed to be repeated, 230 00:13:04,280 --> 00:13:06,080 like the passion. 231 00:13:06,080 --> 00:13:09,440 But most of the material is not found in the other gospels. 232 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:17,160 In fact, over 90% of John's material is unique to his gospel and not included in the others. 233 00:13:17,160 --> 00:13:22,260 And because we believe that God was carrying John along, that he was inspired by the Holy 234 00:13:22,260 --> 00:13:27,720 Spirit, we can trust that what he's given us is exactly what we needed as God's people, 235 00:13:27,720 --> 00:13:31,520 both in what he included and what he chose not to include. 236 00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:37,440 But it's a unique work, which gives us so much extra insight into the life of Christ. 237 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:40,120 There's a few key things we have to say about John's testimony. 238 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:45,200 Number one, it's intended to be historically factual. 239 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:47,820 He's not making it up, right? 240 00:13:47,820 --> 00:13:52,320 He emphasizes that he and the other disciples were eyewitnesses of these events. 241 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:56,140 Listen, even today in a court of law, what's the most powerful testimony? 242 00:13:56,140 --> 00:13:57,840 You put an eyewitness on the stand. 243 00:13:57,840 --> 00:13:58,840 There's nothing better. 244 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:02,560 There really isn't, because even today, videos can be faked. 245 00:14:02,560 --> 00:14:04,120 Am I right? 246 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:08,440 But you put an eyewitness on the stand under oath, and that's the most powerful testimony 247 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:09,440 there is. 248 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:11,840 And that includes the miracles. 249 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:16,800 Unless you were predisposed and biased against believing that miracles can happen, John says 250 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:22,120 I was an eyewitness and these miracles took place. 251 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:24,880 You've got to either accept that or not. 252 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:27,700 So these weren't secondhand accounts or thirdhand accounts. 253 00:14:27,700 --> 00:14:32,840 This wasn't a game of telephone, right, where the details get all mixed up. 254 00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:33,840 No. 255 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:41,220 You can make the case that John was Jesus' closest earthly friend, an eyewitness to his 256 00:14:41,220 --> 00:14:44,040 life up close and personal. 257 00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:48,360 And he writes these things down as historical fact. 258 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:53,520 Number two, and I know this sounds like an oxymoron, John's gospel is both simple and 259 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:57,680 inexhaustible, right? 260 00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:02,720 New Testament scholar Leon Morris once said this, the gospel of John is like a pool in 261 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:07,000 which both a child can wade and an elephant can swim. 262 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:09,500 It's a great quote. 263 00:15:09,500 --> 00:15:13,520 So I could take portions of John's gospel, go over to our acorn ministry over there and 264 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:17,240 read it to them and they would understand the basic message. 265 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:20,920 But at the same time, believers who've been, you know, we've been in the family of God 266 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:27,960 for 30, 40, 50 years, every time we open up this gospel, we see new things, don't we? 267 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:32,360 And we grow deeper in love with Christ every single time because you really can't get to 268 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:38,440 the bottom of its riches because it poses so many questions that require constant prayer 269 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:43,800 and constant meditation and reflection, especially related to one's own life. 270 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:46,360 So it is simple, but it's also inexhaustible. 271 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:50,200 Number three, John's testimony is intentionally purposeful. 272 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:52,280 We've already seen that in chapter 20. 273 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:53,360 Here's what John didn't do. 274 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:56,800 He didn't sit down and go, okay, I'm going to write all this down so that people can 275 00:15:56,800 --> 00:16:02,700 read it and go, oh, that's interesting, and then go on with their lives. 276 00:16:02,700 --> 00:16:03,700 That wasn't the purpose. 277 00:16:03,700 --> 00:16:08,000 He also didn't give us all the material so that believers 2,000 years later can go on 278 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:11,360 Twitter and fight about it. 279 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:16,560 He wrote so that everyone who reads his testimony would personally believe that they would receive 280 00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:20,920 eternal life and that they would spend eternity in heaven and not in hell. 281 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:25,040 Could there be a higher purpose than that? 282 00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:27,160 There's so many unique features about John's gospel. 283 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:30,440 Honestly, as I was doing this last night, I was like, Lord, I need three or four more 284 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:33,960 weeks, but I'm not going to do that, right? 285 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:37,040 We have these seven great signs that John gives us. 286 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:38,720 This is the evidence he's putting forward. 287 00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:42,840 I'm going to give you seven signs or seven miracles so that you will believe. 288 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:48,480 He goes, I could write about the other 98%, but these are enough. 289 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:50,320 The issue isn't is there enough evidence? 290 00:16:50,320 --> 00:16:52,640 The issue is will you submit to it? 291 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:54,560 I'm going to give you seven great signs. 292 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:59,720 Then woven in between these seven great signs are seven great I am statements that Jesus 293 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:04,980 makes about himself, which points to different aspects of his Messiahship. 294 00:17:04,980 --> 00:17:06,160 I am the bread of life. 295 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:07,440 I am the light of the world. 296 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:08,760 I am the door to heaven. 297 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:10,040 I am the good shepherd. 298 00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:11,840 I am the resurrection and the life. 299 00:17:11,840 --> 00:17:13,640 I am the way, the truth and the life. 300 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:15,800 I am the true vine. 301 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:19,000 What a treasure the gospel of John is to the church, right? 302 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:21,760 To every believer. 303 00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:27,800 What I want to do in the time I have is to do a flyover of the book in a unique way. 304 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:33,880 What I want you to do as we finish this up is to see John's gospel from the big picture. 305 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:36,480 One more time, I want to put up our outline. 306 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:41,040 I put this up on the very first message from that studio. 307 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:45,640 I've come back to it a number of times, but really brief, this is very skeletal, but you 308 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:50,160 see here the first 18 verses, that's John's prologue that talks about the divine nature 309 00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:51,560 of the word. 310 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:56,960 The prelude, the rest of chapter one is a focus on John the Baptist preparing the way. 311 00:17:56,960 --> 00:17:58,860 Then you have this massive section in between. 312 00:17:58,860 --> 00:18:03,840 That's the public ministry of Christ where he's out there amongst the people and amongst 313 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:06,280 the religious leaders of Israel. 314 00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:10,980 In chapter 13, he retreats to the upper room and now there's this private ministry, just 315 00:18:10,980 --> 00:18:14,480 Jesus and his guys, his disciples. 316 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:18,800 Then you have the passion and the resurrection and then what we've been looking at recently, 317 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:26,120 the epilogue, which is John putting a cap on the story as Peter is restored and recommissioned 318 00:18:26,120 --> 00:18:28,280 for ministry, right? 319 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:31,840 So there's a few ways that New Testament scholars outline the book of John. 320 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:33,360 This is one of the most common ways. 321 00:18:33,360 --> 00:18:38,200 A second way is to use those seven signs as markers as you go along. 322 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:43,320 There's a third way, and guys, I've been saving this for two and a half years. 323 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:44,440 Tuck this away. 324 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:51,560 A third way to look at it and that is to chart John's narrative by Jesus's movements. 325 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:53,200 It's so interesting. 326 00:18:53,200 --> 00:19:01,920 In the Gospel of John, Jesus visits Jerusalem four times in chapter two, chapter five, chapter 327 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:04,800 seven, and for the last time in chapter 12. 328 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:09,600 You may or may not know this, but this is one of the most unique aspects of John's account 329 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:12,240 and what makes it so special. 330 00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:18,500 Other Gospel writers do not mention any of the first three visits to Jerusalem. 331 00:19:18,500 --> 00:19:24,720 In Matthew, Jesus doesn't arrive in Jerusalem until chapter 21 of 28. 332 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:27,760 In Mark, it's chapter 11 out of 16. 333 00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:30,880 In Luke, it's chapter 19 out of 24. 334 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:37,080 But in John's Gospel, it's in chapter two. 335 00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:38,080 So why is that? 336 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:42,960 Well, the other Gospel writers give most of their attention to Jesus's ministry in Galilee, 337 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:43,960 and rightfully so. 338 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:47,440 There's so much great material about what happened up there. 339 00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:53,440 But John alternates his account, and maybe you saw this in our study, between Galilee 340 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:58,600 and Jerusalem, back and forth and back and forth and back and forth and back and forth, 341 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:00,600 which we'll walk through in just a second. 342 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:05,160 And for a very important reason, I think, John's Gospel, more than the others, reflects 343 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:10,360 the strategy of the Lord in dealing with the leadership of Israel. 344 00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:16,200 And basically cultivating this, what I call a slow burn, which eventually leads the leaders 345 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:21,760 of Israel, forces them to have to arrest and crucify the Lord, because that was the God 346 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:24,400 sovereign plan, right? 347 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:27,000 And Jesus is going to force that. 348 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:32,480 So each time he retreats from Jerusalem and heads back up to the north, the temperature 349 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:35,280 amongst the religious establishment cools a little bit. 350 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:39,060 And then every time he comes back to Jerusalem, most often because of what? 351 00:20:39,060 --> 00:20:41,560 The feast, the high holidays of Israel. 352 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:46,560 He comes back, boy, that burn starts up all over again, right? 353 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:51,680 So each of those first three times that Jesus comes to Jerusalem, John gives us, this is 354 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:55,880 so cool, new information that the other Gospel writers haven't given us. 355 00:20:55,880 --> 00:21:00,860 So that's what makes John so cool in terms of getting divine revelation that aren't found 356 00:21:00,860 --> 00:21:03,200 in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. 357 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:07,520 So I'm going to walk through this, and it's probably not going to surprise you that I'm 358 00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:10,840 going to use a map to do that, okay? 359 00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:16,880 So again, if you're visiting with us, I'm sorry. 360 00:21:16,880 --> 00:21:17,880 This is my nerdiness. 361 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:19,840 It's just, it's great. 362 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:22,220 Maps really give us visuals and they help us. 363 00:21:22,220 --> 00:21:25,680 So there's your typical, you know, ancient map of Israel. 364 00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:28,020 You always want to look for the two bodies of water, right? 365 00:21:28,020 --> 00:21:31,160 Sea of Galilee in the north and the Dead Sea in the south. 366 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:34,480 And in between we have Galilee, Samaria, and Judea, right? 367 00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:36,480 Everybody got that? 368 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:37,480 Okay, good. 369 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:39,420 So let's start with John's prologue. 370 00:21:39,420 --> 00:21:45,960 The first 18 verses of the book, guys, the first 18 verses of John 1 are chock full of 371 00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:49,680 some of the most rich theology in the entire New Testament, right? 372 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:54,800 John obviously begins his Gospel completely differently than the others. 373 00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:56,680 He doesn't start with the genealogy. 374 00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:58,600 He doesn't start in Nazareth. 375 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:02,120 He doesn't even start with the birth in Bethlehem. 376 00:22:02,120 --> 00:22:04,680 John goes all the way back to what? 377 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:08,140 The very beginning, to the point of creation. 378 00:22:08,140 --> 00:22:10,520 And so he's making a point right out of the gate. 379 00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:14,680 Again he's not dissing the other three and where they started, but what he's saying is 380 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:19,640 here, the central character of the Gospel, the one he calls the Word, has no beginning. 381 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:21,280 That's the point. 382 00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:26,200 He has no beginning because he himself is God. 383 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:27,200 You can't miss it. 384 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:31,760 In fact, John says, he is the one who called everything into being. 385 00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:36,000 In fact, nothing came into being apart from him. 386 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:40,300 Which leaves you with only one conclusion that he himself is eternal, right? 387 00:22:40,300 --> 00:22:43,920 He has to be eternal and uncreated. 388 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:47,640 There's no other conclusion, rational conclusion to come to. 389 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:52,640 And then we're told 14 verses in that this eternal being entered into his own creation 390 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:58,320 taking on flesh, taking on the form of a human being, and John declares, we were eyewitnesses 391 00:22:58,320 --> 00:22:59,520 of this. 392 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:00,520 That's so important. 393 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:05,800 He says, we have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son of God full of grace 394 00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:07,360 and truth. 395 00:23:07,360 --> 00:23:12,000 So in the fullness of time, God the Son came down to earth and he added a sinless human 396 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:16,640 nature to his already perfect divine nature. 397 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:18,560 And nothing could ever be the same. 398 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:21,560 The kingdom of God had come to earth. 399 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:24,580 The old covenant's about to give way to the new. 400 00:23:24,580 --> 00:23:28,660 Forgiveness of sins were soon to be available to the entire world and death itself would 401 00:23:28,660 --> 00:23:30,840 be defeated. 402 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:36,520 There's no other way to look at this other than this is the decisive moment in the history 403 00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:44,900 of mankind, the history of our entire universe that John describes here in the first 14 verses. 404 00:23:44,900 --> 00:23:48,880 He covers it so beautifully and yet so succinctly, right? 405 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:50,480 From verse one to verse 14. 406 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:51,920 Then we come to the prelude, right? 407 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:55,600 And the prelude is all about John the Baptist and his first followers. 408 00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:58,800 And what do you think about when you think of John the Baptist? 409 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:02,440 What's the first image that pops in your head? 410 00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:04,320 Camel hair. 411 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:10,400 Camel hair and a belt and a wild beard and wild hair like all over the place. 412 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:14,880 He's waist deep in the Jordan River and he's baptizing. 413 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:19,360 And he's just, everybody in the magazine said, that's that crazy guy out at the Jordan. 414 00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:24,880 But he's one righteous man, one voice crying out in the wilderness, repent. 415 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:29,200 Take straight the path of the Lord because the Messiah is here. 416 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:30,800 That's what he was announcing, right? 417 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:33,040 And so we see Jesus going out to see John. 418 00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:34,040 Where was that? 419 00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:35,040 Green dot on the map. 420 00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:36,040 Somewhere around that area. 421 00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:41,160 We're going to go look at that in November when we're in Israel, right? 422 00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:46,520 And we hear John's voice, behold, look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the 423 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:48,200 world. 424 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:51,620 And this launches Jesus' public ministry as the Messiah. 425 00:24:51,620 --> 00:24:53,640 Now he travels to Galilee. 426 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:59,260 And this is where we get the first of John's seven signs to the town of Cana. 427 00:24:59,260 --> 00:25:02,000 Now you see our two primary areas circled there. 428 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:04,200 Galilee, the red circle in the north. 429 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:07,560 Judea with Jerusalem, the blue dot in the center. 430 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:10,720 And that purple dot is where Cana is located. 431 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:16,560 And in Cana, Jesus attends a wedding where he keeps the celebration going by turning 432 00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:21,780 water into the highest quality wine possible, right? 433 00:25:21,780 --> 00:25:24,280 He transforms simple water into wine. 434 00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:28,080 And how better to demonstrate in this moment that he's actually the creator. 435 00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:34,080 That he is able to change the molecular structure of liquid. 436 00:25:34,080 --> 00:25:36,360 Who does that? 437 00:25:36,360 --> 00:25:40,040 And John 2, then Jesus first travels to Jerusalem for the Passover. 438 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:45,320 And immediately, what I talked about, that slow burn begins, the conflict that he has 439 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:46,840 with the religious establishment. 440 00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:52,080 He goes into the temple courts and he begins to turn over tables and toss people out. 441 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:53,080 Why? 442 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:59,960 Because they had taken a holy place of worship and prayer and turned it into a profane marketplace. 443 00:25:59,960 --> 00:26:01,320 So this is a decisive moment. 444 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:06,080 The first shots are fired in this battle between Israel and her Messiah. 445 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:08,040 And the Jews certainly notice it. 446 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:11,400 They challenge him, by the way, what's your authority to do such things? 447 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:14,680 And he responds with a claim that nobody understood at the moment. 448 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:19,680 He said, destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again. 449 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:23,680 People went, huh? 450 00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:28,680 In chapter four, Jesus is determined to go back north into Galilee now. 451 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:30,540 And John's the only one who covers this. 452 00:26:30,540 --> 00:26:34,920 But Jesus says, we're not going in the normal Jewish way. 453 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:35,920 What was that? 454 00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:39,320 To go around Samaria, right? 455 00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:40,880 That defiled land in the middle. 456 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:43,140 We don't go through there. 457 00:26:43,140 --> 00:26:45,280 And this disciple said, excuse me, we're going where? 458 00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:47,600 It was a scandal. 459 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:49,380 But this marks another turning point. 460 00:26:49,380 --> 00:26:56,220 It sends the message that the salvation Jesus brings is not exclusive to Israel. 461 00:26:56,220 --> 00:26:58,560 Earth shattering. 462 00:26:58,560 --> 00:27:03,240 At a place called Sikkar, pink dot, right? 463 00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:07,400 He talked privately with a Samaritan woman. 464 00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:13,120 I mean a woman first of all, but a Samaritan woman who is coming to draw water at a well. 465 00:27:13,120 --> 00:27:21,720 And to her, this is so amazing, not to a Jew, but to her he first declares that yes, I am 466 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:23,720 Israel's Messiah. 467 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:25,100 Amazing. 468 00:27:25,100 --> 00:27:30,380 And then we find out shockingly that the news travels to the rest of the city and many Samaritans 469 00:27:30,380 --> 00:27:33,680 come to believe in Jesus. 470 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:34,680 What a story, right? 471 00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:38,520 But then continuing north into Galilee, Jesus is now warmly welcomed. 472 00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:39,520 Why? 473 00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:43,600 Because a bunch of people have been in Jerusalem, seen his power and said, you know what, well 474 00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:48,800 maybe this guy's going to bring all that miracle working power up to our neck of the woods. 475 00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:51,760 Jesus rebukes them for being sign seeking. 476 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:56,140 But there is a glimmer of hope, a glimmer of faith in Galilee, and this is John's second 477 00:27:56,140 --> 00:27:59,680 sign of all people, a royal official. 478 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:02,420 And you're starting to see the theme in John, right? 479 00:28:02,420 --> 00:28:07,920 First a Samaritan woman, now a royal official of all people finds Jesus and says, I live 480 00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:11,960 in Capernaum and my son is close to death. 481 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:12,960 Where's Capernaum? 482 00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:16,040 Yellow dot, right up on the Sea of Galilee. 483 00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:23,560 And Jesus simply told him to go home, assuring him that his son would live. 484 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:27,200 And we're forced to ask the question, what kind of man can heal like that? 485 00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:31,560 A deadly sickness and from a distance, didn't even touch the child. 486 00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:35,040 What kind of a man is this? 487 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:39,520 In chapter five it's time to go back to Jerusalem again, this time for an unnamed feast. 488 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:44,080 And Jesus enters through the sheep gate and there there's a pool called Bethesda and a 489 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:49,680 man who's been crippled by disease and he is laid there for 38 years. 490 00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:55,560 Imagine, he can't even walk or get up to get himself into the pool and Jesus is filled 491 00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:56,560 with compassion. 492 00:28:56,560 --> 00:29:04,480 And he simply commands the man to stand, to pick up his pallet and walk, which he does. 493 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:09,600 Point number three that John gives us, that Jesus is the Christ. 494 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:11,400 This man gets up, can you imagine? 495 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:14,000 You've known everybody in Jerusalem knew this guy. 496 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:16,600 It had been 38 years he'd been laying there. 497 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:17,960 That bum, right? 498 00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:20,320 That's what people said. 499 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:24,280 And here he is walking through the streets now. 500 00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:27,280 Now you would think such a miracle would result in great rejoicing. 501 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:30,760 You would think that people say, surely the Messiah is here. 502 00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:33,360 But no, Jesus had did this when? 503 00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:35,100 On the Sabbath. 504 00:29:35,100 --> 00:29:40,300 And so a dispute over the law now causes the religious leaders not to rejoice but to begin 505 00:29:40,300 --> 00:29:42,880 to harass him. 506 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:44,520 Where is he going to go next? 507 00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:47,680 Chapter six, back up to Galilee. 508 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:50,760 And this is going to be his last tour of Galilee really. 509 00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:55,280 John chapter six is a turning point for the residents of Galilee in terms of their response 510 00:29:55,280 --> 00:29:56,280 to Jesus. 511 00:29:56,280 --> 00:30:02,560 Again he's welcomed by large crowds but as we soon find out for all the wrong reasons 512 00:30:02,560 --> 00:30:09,480 with his disciples Jesus withdraws to a mountainside across the sea of Galilee and he feeds 5,000. 513 00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:11,140 Sign number four. 514 00:30:11,140 --> 00:30:15,080 And then later that night after sending his disciples home on a boat the Lord comes to 515 00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:17,980 them walking on the waves of the sea of Galilee. 516 00:30:17,980 --> 00:30:20,500 The fifth sign. 517 00:30:20,500 --> 00:30:22,320 Again this is John's eyewitness testimony. 518 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:23,660 He was in that boat. 519 00:30:23,660 --> 00:30:26,360 He's not making this up. 520 00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:28,600 He was walking on the, what do we learn from this? 521 00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:33,040 First of all Jesus is able to create matter from nothing. 522 00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:35,120 X knee hello. 523 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:38,080 And second he has authority over nature. 524 00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:39,720 He has authority over physics. 525 00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:42,240 He can walk on water. 526 00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:45,720 Do you believe it? 527 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:48,080 John wants you to believe it. 528 00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:52,160 And soon the word about Jesus spreading all over Galilee. 529 00:30:52,160 --> 00:30:56,140 Everybody wants to hear from him and see him but Jesus is not fooled. 530 00:30:56,140 --> 00:30:59,040 He sees through their self-centered motives, right? 531 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:00,040 They want what? 532 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:01,600 Free stuff. 533 00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:02,600 They don't want to save you. 534 00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:04,200 They don't want to die to themselves. 535 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:05,400 They want free stuff. 536 00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:06,400 They want miracles. 537 00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:07,520 Give us more of that bread. 538 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:09,920 More of that fish. 539 00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:14,640 And so in Capernaum Jesus delivers his great bread of life discourse and among other things 540 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:22,200 he says to enter eternal life they would have to eat his flesh and drink his blood. 541 00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:24,800 Shock comes over people. 542 00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:26,440 Here's an old truth in ministry. 543 00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:32,520 If you want to drive away false converts preach really hard messages and they will flee for 544 00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:34,200 the doors. 545 00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:35,200 And that's what happened. 546 00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:37,400 The crowds thin out after this, right? 547 00:31:37,400 --> 00:31:39,180 Only his disciples remain. 548 00:31:39,180 --> 00:31:40,800 Even Simon Peter is shook. 549 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:42,200 Remember what he says though? 550 00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:44,120 Jesus says do you guys want to leave too? 551 00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:47,440 He's like Lord where do we go? 552 00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:48,840 There's nowhere else we can go. 553 00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:52,060 You have the words of eternal life. 554 00:31:52,060 --> 00:31:55,560 So Jesus drives away the false converts. 555 00:31:55,560 --> 00:31:59,400 Then we come to chapter 7 to 10 and this is a long record of Jesus. 556 00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:02,000 Where is he going after being in Galilee? 557 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:03,000 Yes. 558 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:05,660 Back to Jerusalem in chapter 7 through 10. 559 00:32:05,660 --> 00:32:10,160 This time for the Feast of Booths or the Feast of Tabernacles. 560 00:32:10,160 --> 00:32:11,920 And this time is interesting. 561 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:13,160 He travels quietly. 562 00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:14,800 He wants to go under the radar. 563 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:15,800 Why? 564 00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:19,360 Because he is now the biggest topic in Jerusalem. 565 00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:22,400 And there's great division among the Jews about him. 566 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:29,200 But because people feared the leadership so much they wouldn't even speak about it openly. 567 00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:32,320 So that's the tense situation happening in the city. 568 00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:36,240 Midway through that feast Jesus sort of comes out of hiding. 569 00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:40,160 He goes right into the temple courts, the home of the Pharisees and the scribes and 570 00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:42,440 he begins to teach. 571 00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:44,040 And that's when it all breaks out. 572 00:32:44,040 --> 00:32:46,480 That's when the crowds begin to turn against him. 573 00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:50,640 They accuse him of being possessed by a demon. 574 00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:54,640 And in response Jesus boldly claims that he has come from the Father. 575 00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:57,680 And if you don't believe he's come from the Father then you don't believe in the Father 576 00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:00,640 either. 577 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:03,080 So the authorities send the temple guard after him. 578 00:33:03,080 --> 00:33:06,720 And the temple guard goes to arrest him and they come back empty handed and they say, 579 00:33:06,720 --> 00:33:12,120 yeah we were just so blown away by his teaching we forgot to grab him. 580 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:14,400 Frustrating for the leadership. 581 00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:18,120 And the motivation to grab him intensifies in chapters eight and nine. 582 00:33:18,120 --> 00:33:21,320 Remember the crime is blasphemy. 583 00:33:21,320 --> 00:33:26,480 That by the words that Jesus is teaching in the temple courts he's making himself to be 584 00:33:26,480 --> 00:33:27,680 equal to God. 585 00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:29,360 That is the charge. 586 00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:35,840 So Jesus cries out to those who have ears to hear that he is the light of the world. 587 00:33:35,840 --> 00:33:39,520 What an audacious claim. 588 00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:42,400 And that brings an immediate and ugly objection from the Pharisees. 589 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:47,440 They now accuse him of being an illegitimate child whose father is unknown. 590 00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:52,120 And Jesus counters by saying, well you know what I know who your father is. 591 00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:56,720 He's the devil. 592 00:33:56,720 --> 00:33:59,880 And this is why they can't believe he says because they don't belong to God. 593 00:33:59,880 --> 00:34:02,320 They never have. 594 00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:07,340 And when they lash out again and refer to Jesus as a demon possessed Samaritan he responds 595 00:34:07,340 --> 00:34:10,600 by saying well before Abraham was born I am. 596 00:34:10,600 --> 00:34:14,520 I mean just a smack him. 597 00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:16,180 I am he says. 598 00:34:16,180 --> 00:34:17,960 And of course with that the Jews explode. 599 00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:19,560 And for the first time they take up rocks. 600 00:34:19,560 --> 00:34:24,240 They're going to stone him on the spot but he escapes. 601 00:34:24,240 --> 00:34:28,140 And then in the midst of all this chaos and conflict in the city Jesus and his guys are 602 00:34:28,140 --> 00:34:32,600 walking through the streets and we come to the sixth sign. 603 00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:37,120 We read of a beggar who's been blind all of his life and so Jesus stops in front of his 604 00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:42,040 disciples take some mud simple mud from the ground puts it on this man's eyes and says 605 00:34:42,040 --> 00:34:47,040 go wash in the pool of Siloam and his sight is restored. 606 00:34:47,040 --> 00:34:52,960 Never before had a man been born blind who was now given sight. 607 00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:56,800 Now the religious leaders they don't know what to do about this. 608 00:34:56,800 --> 00:34:58,500 How do you deny this miracle. 609 00:34:58,500 --> 00:35:03,720 Everybody knew this beggar but now he sees they're in a frenzy over this and things are 610 00:35:03,720 --> 00:35:05,660 really heating up. 611 00:35:05,660 --> 00:35:09,160 In Chapter 10 Jesus keeps poking. 612 00:35:09,160 --> 00:35:12,880 And this is really the undercurrent of the story. 613 00:35:12,880 --> 00:35:17,960 Jesus is he is poking the bear so to speak because God's sovereign plan is that he will 614 00:35:17,960 --> 00:35:19,060 go to the cross. 615 00:35:19,060 --> 00:35:20,760 He pokes the Pharisees again. 616 00:35:20,760 --> 00:35:24,760 He speaks of himself as the good shepherd and then he contrasts himself with those who 617 00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:28,620 are get this strangers thieves and robbers. 618 00:35:28,620 --> 00:35:29,760 And the meaning was clear. 619 00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:34,920 He was claiming to be the Messiah and at the same time identifying them as the wicked shepherds 620 00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:38,560 of the Old Testament destined for judgment. 621 00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:40,200 Ouch. 622 00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:42,200 He continues to make things plain. 623 00:35:42,200 --> 00:35:45,920 Why would they not receive his words because because you're not of my sheep. 624 00:35:45,920 --> 00:35:50,420 My sheep hear my voice and they follow me. 625 00:35:50,420 --> 00:35:51,420 But not you. 626 00:35:51,420 --> 00:35:53,440 You're not of the sheepfold. 627 00:35:53,440 --> 00:35:55,560 And then he drops this bomb. 628 00:35:55,560 --> 00:35:59,060 I and the father are one. 629 00:35:59,060 --> 00:36:00,200 And that was all they could take. 630 00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:05,720 And they pick up stones to to kill him right on the spot and again he miraculously evades 631 00:36:05,720 --> 00:36:08,240 their grasp. 632 00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:10,480 Now at that point things are just too hot. 633 00:36:10,480 --> 00:36:14,320 So Jesus now is going to retreat but this time not to Galilee. 634 00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:18,840 At this point the ministry in Galilee has gone cold. 635 00:36:18,840 --> 00:36:20,120 False. 636 00:36:20,120 --> 00:36:23,840 There's some legitimate converts in Galilee but most of them are following for all the 637 00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:24,840 wrong reasons. 638 00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:27,720 Jesus does not go back to Galilee this time. 639 00:36:27,720 --> 00:36:32,840 The Sanhedrin now is plotting his death but it's not yet his time. 640 00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:34,200 He keeps saying that throughout. 641 00:36:34,200 --> 00:36:36,240 My time my time my time. 642 00:36:36,240 --> 00:36:38,480 That's still a few months away at Passover. 643 00:36:38,480 --> 00:36:42,280 So Jesus' disciples go back actually to back where that green dot is. 644 00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:44,760 Back to where John the Baptist had ministered. 645 00:36:44,760 --> 00:36:46,640 That's the sticks in Israel. 646 00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:47,760 The wilderness. 647 00:36:47,760 --> 00:36:48,760 And guess what? 648 00:36:48,760 --> 00:36:49,760 He's well received there. 649 00:36:49,760 --> 00:36:53,000 When the people and the sticks find out Jesus is there they come out to greet him. 650 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:56,000 And again John says many believed in his name. 651 00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:57,960 The disciples were content to stay out there. 652 00:36:57,960 --> 00:37:00,880 They're like this is really good ministry Jesus. 653 00:37:00,880 --> 00:37:02,000 Jerusalem's super dangerous. 654 00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:04,440 Let's just stay here. 655 00:37:04,440 --> 00:37:05,840 But that's not going to happen. 656 00:37:05,840 --> 00:37:09,520 In chapter 11 another huge turning point. 657 00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:15,000 Jesus comes so close to Jerusalem he goes to a place called Bethany which is the light 658 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:18,760 blue dot right about two miles outside of Jerusalem. 659 00:37:18,760 --> 00:37:24,000 This is where the straw breaks the camel's back. 660 00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:26,320 This is the raising of Lazarus from the dead. 661 00:37:26,320 --> 00:37:29,760 The seventh and final of John's signs. 662 00:37:29,760 --> 00:37:35,040 He raises a man from the dead just two miles outside of Jerusalem. 663 00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:38,800 And the people who were there that day who witnessed it some came to saving faith but 664 00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:40,800 others did the opposite didn't they? 665 00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:44,920 They ran to Jerusalem and they tattled straight to the Sanhedrin. 666 00:37:44,920 --> 00:37:46,800 You've got to hear what's going on. 667 00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:50,960 And when the Sanhedrin hears about this they call an impromptu meeting right. 668 00:37:50,960 --> 00:37:54,440 They bring all the big power players together in Jerusalem they say what are we going to 669 00:37:54,440 --> 00:37:56,220 do about this guy? 670 00:37:56,220 --> 00:38:00,360 They realize in that moment that Jesus is starting to win the hearts and minds of the 671 00:38:00,360 --> 00:38:01,600 entire nation. 672 00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:05,980 We have got to stop him and we've got to do it now. 673 00:38:05,980 --> 00:38:08,880 It's panic in Jerusalem. 674 00:38:08,880 --> 00:38:10,960 And so there we go. 675 00:38:10,960 --> 00:38:11,960 Sets the scene. 676 00:38:11,960 --> 00:38:14,560 The triumphal entry right. 677 00:38:14,560 --> 00:38:17,000 And John paints such a perfect picture of it right. 678 00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:22,920 Chapter 12 this point Judas Iscariot is already seeking to betray him and the plots are going 679 00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:23,920 on right. 680 00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:28,480 The Jewish leaders leap at the opportunity that an insider from within Jesus' circle 681 00:38:28,480 --> 00:38:30,340 has come to them. 682 00:38:30,340 --> 00:38:31,800 But they know they have to be patient. 683 00:38:31,800 --> 00:38:34,220 We can't grab him during the feast. 684 00:38:34,220 --> 00:38:36,220 The people could riot. 685 00:38:36,220 --> 00:38:43,080 But then you can imagine the sound of people cheering and palm branches being waved. 686 00:38:43,080 --> 00:38:45,280 Hosanna to the highest they're screaming. 687 00:38:45,280 --> 00:38:47,960 Be the one who comes in the name of the Lord. 688 00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:56,040 And Sanhedrin I picture him peeking out of the temple and going oh no it's him. 689 00:38:56,040 --> 00:38:57,040 It's him. 690 00:38:57,040 --> 00:38:59,480 That's the ruckus. 691 00:38:59,480 --> 00:39:04,960 He's coming into the city on a donkey fulfilling Zechariah 9.9. 692 00:39:04,960 --> 00:39:09,800 Can you imagine the panic of the religious establishment as this happens? 693 00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:13,120 Zechariah 9.9 shout in triumph O daughter of Jerusalem. 694 00:39:13,120 --> 00:39:17,060 Behold your king is coming to you. 695 00:39:17,060 --> 00:39:19,760 Imagine the panic. 696 00:39:19,760 --> 00:39:25,680 Imagine then in chapter 13 we see Jesus retreating with his guys. 697 00:39:25,680 --> 00:39:30,200 This is the transition from that public ministry which ends at the triumphal entry and goes 698 00:39:30,200 --> 00:39:31,820 into the upper room. 699 00:39:31,820 --> 00:39:34,720 Now Jesus is going to minister privately to his guys. 700 00:39:34,720 --> 00:39:36,820 He knows his time is about here. 701 00:39:36,820 --> 00:39:41,080 He's got to prepare them before he's taken away. 702 00:39:41,080 --> 00:39:42,480 They've got to know what's coming. 703 00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:45,280 They've got to be ready. 704 00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:46,600 This is the important transition. 705 00:39:46,600 --> 00:39:48,680 So Jesus starts by doing what? 706 00:39:48,680 --> 00:39:52,360 Washing his disciples feet of all things right? 707 00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:55,540 To show them what it means to serve and to love. 708 00:39:55,540 --> 00:40:00,920 And then he predicts his betrayal and his betrayer which sends Judas out of the room 709 00:40:00,920 --> 00:40:06,360 right in a rush and that forces the hand of the religious establishment. 710 00:40:06,360 --> 00:40:08,280 They know the plot now. 711 00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:10,400 Jesus knows the plot. 712 00:40:10,400 --> 00:40:12,720 And now the senate hitter says there's no time. 713 00:40:12,720 --> 00:40:15,960 We have got to grab them tonight. 714 00:40:15,960 --> 00:40:17,880 And that's what they do. 715 00:40:17,880 --> 00:40:19,680 Jesus' time had finally come. 716 00:40:19,680 --> 00:40:23,960 He had forced it to be the Passover lamb. 717 00:40:23,960 --> 00:40:26,000 Why was he in Jerusalem this last time? 718 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:27,680 For the Passover. 719 00:40:27,680 --> 00:40:29,120 He had forced it. 720 00:40:29,120 --> 00:40:34,720 Now the sovereign plan of God for the sacrifice of his son as the Passover lamb was set in 721 00:40:34,720 --> 00:40:35,720 motion. 722 00:40:35,720 --> 00:40:40,960 In the meantime Jesus patiently teaches his guys in the upper room and on the way out 723 00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:42,940 to the garden of Gethsemane. 724 00:40:42,940 --> 00:40:45,080 He prepares them for what's to come. 725 00:40:45,080 --> 00:40:46,440 He says I'm returning to my father. 726 00:40:46,440 --> 00:40:48,920 I know you can't follow me. 727 00:40:48,920 --> 00:40:50,560 I have to go alone. 728 00:40:50,560 --> 00:40:52,160 Simon Peter boasts one last time. 729 00:40:52,160 --> 00:40:54,800 I will lay my life down for you. 730 00:40:54,800 --> 00:40:57,440 And we all know how that ends. 731 00:40:57,440 --> 00:41:02,280 But the greatest promise of all in that upper room that night Jesus says that I will send 732 00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:04,760 another who is like me. 733 00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:07,700 When I go I will send another, the Holy Spirit. 734 00:41:07,700 --> 00:41:12,960 And it will actually be to your advantage that I go away and he comes to you. 735 00:41:12,960 --> 00:41:15,600 What a great promise. 736 00:41:15,600 --> 00:41:18,960 Now obviously this is Jesus' last stop from an earthly perspective. 737 00:41:18,960 --> 00:41:20,720 He's not going to leave Jerusalem alive. 738 00:41:20,720 --> 00:41:23,360 At least that's what it looks like. 739 00:41:23,360 --> 00:41:28,240 Chapters 18 and 19 tell us of his arrest, of the trials that he suffers, the brutal 740 00:41:28,240 --> 00:41:33,680 scourging, the crucifixion where the Lamb of God lays down his life for all those whom 741 00:41:33,680 --> 00:41:38,320 the Father would give to him, paying the ransom for their sins. 742 00:41:38,320 --> 00:41:39,960 It is finished. 743 00:41:39,960 --> 00:41:41,720 He cries out on the cross. 744 00:41:41,720 --> 00:41:44,120 It's done. 745 00:41:44,120 --> 00:41:45,800 Completely paid for. 746 00:41:45,800 --> 00:41:46,960 But that's not the end of the story. 747 00:41:46,960 --> 00:41:48,680 Then we get to chapter 20, right? 748 00:41:48,680 --> 00:41:54,800 John recounts that great story of him racing past Peter to the empty tomb, right? 749 00:41:54,800 --> 00:41:58,020 See you, Pete. 750 00:41:58,020 --> 00:42:02,680 He makes it to the tomb, the joy, the unbridled joy and the shock of the empty tomb. 751 00:42:02,680 --> 00:42:06,280 And then we have the resurrection appearances of the risen Christ. 752 00:42:06,280 --> 00:42:12,760 And we learn that Satan and sin and death have been defeated. 753 00:42:12,760 --> 00:42:16,400 And although most scholars speak of those seven signs there that you see there, how 754 00:42:16,400 --> 00:42:18,560 can we deny that there wasn't an eighth? 755 00:42:18,560 --> 00:42:24,280 In fact, the greatest of all, the resurrection. 756 00:42:24,280 --> 00:42:25,960 The resurrection is the greatest of all. 757 00:42:25,960 --> 00:42:27,560 It's the capstone of all the signs. 758 00:42:27,560 --> 00:42:33,560 It's the vindication of all Jesus' claims to be the one and only Son of God. 759 00:42:33,560 --> 00:42:36,000 That's where John wants to take us, to show us that. 760 00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:37,600 But it reminds me of this great exchange. 761 00:42:37,600 --> 00:42:40,400 Now I'm jumping over to Matthew's gospel, but it's so important. 762 00:42:40,400 --> 00:42:43,160 Matthew 12, this great exchange. 763 00:42:43,160 --> 00:42:47,760 Some of the experts in the law, along with some Pharisees, said to Jesus, teacher, we 764 00:42:47,760 --> 00:42:49,480 want to see what? 765 00:42:49,480 --> 00:42:51,160 A sign from you. 766 00:42:51,160 --> 00:42:53,080 A sign. 767 00:42:53,080 --> 00:42:58,280 But he answered them, an evil and adulterous generation asked for a sign, but no sign will 768 00:42:58,280 --> 00:43:00,760 be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 769 00:43:00,760 --> 00:43:02,760 And you're like, what? 770 00:43:02,760 --> 00:43:03,760 Jonah? 771 00:43:03,760 --> 00:43:07,600 For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish for three days and three nights, 772 00:43:07,600 --> 00:43:14,160 so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. 773 00:43:14,160 --> 00:43:18,840 John makes it so clear in his gospel that the disciples were not predisposed to believe 774 00:43:18,840 --> 00:43:19,840 in the resurrection. 775 00:43:19,840 --> 00:43:21,960 They were clueless. 776 00:43:21,960 --> 00:43:26,400 It's only after they have this most compelling evidence put before them that he's really 777 00:43:26,400 --> 00:43:32,240 alive, that they're able to see him, able to touch him, able to hear him speak, then 778 00:43:32,240 --> 00:43:34,240 they believe he's truly risen from the grave. 779 00:43:34,240 --> 00:43:38,880 But the cool thing to know from that point forward and into church history, once they 780 00:43:38,880 --> 00:43:41,960 knew that was true, they never stopped proclaiming it. 781 00:43:41,960 --> 00:43:48,280 It becomes the centerpiece of all of the preaching of the early church, that Jesus rose from 782 00:43:48,280 --> 00:43:50,080 the grave. 783 00:43:50,080 --> 00:43:57,200 So John says these signs were performed in the presence of his disciples so that 2,000 784 00:43:57,200 --> 00:44:03,680 years later, you guys can open your Bibles and you can see eyewitness accounts of who 785 00:44:03,680 --> 00:44:08,160 Jesus is and what really happened. 786 00:44:08,160 --> 00:44:10,800 Simon Peter confirms it in his second letter. 787 00:44:10,800 --> 00:44:16,880 Listen, again, another eyewitness says, we did not follow cleverly devised tales when 788 00:44:16,880 --> 00:44:21,600 we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses 789 00:44:21,600 --> 00:44:23,600 of his majesty. 790 00:44:23,600 --> 00:44:25,400 They're not making up stories. 791 00:44:25,400 --> 00:44:28,320 There's nothing in it for them to make up stories. 792 00:44:28,320 --> 00:44:31,600 There is no riches and fame to go with this. 793 00:44:31,600 --> 00:44:33,880 They actually saw it. 794 00:44:33,880 --> 00:44:37,100 John says we saw his glory up close and personal. 795 00:44:37,100 --> 00:44:42,480 So now I've written it down, reader, so that you may believe that what I've said is true, 796 00:44:42,480 --> 00:44:48,040 that Jesus is who he said he was and so that you might have life in his name. 797 00:44:48,040 --> 00:44:52,840 That's the purpose of everything we've done over the last two and a half years. 798 00:44:52,840 --> 00:44:57,480 But it raises one last question and I promise I'll close with this, but it's almost too 799 00:44:57,480 --> 00:45:00,640 simple to consider, but it has to be considered. 800 00:45:00,640 --> 00:45:03,840 What does it mean to believe? 801 00:45:03,840 --> 00:45:05,720 We just run right over that word, don't we? 802 00:45:05,720 --> 00:45:06,720 What does it mean? 803 00:45:06,720 --> 00:45:09,840 Well, there's three components to it. 804 00:45:09,840 --> 00:45:13,280 So test yourself on this. 805 00:45:13,280 --> 00:45:17,360 First there has to be knowledge and understanding about the basic facts of a couple of things. 806 00:45:17,360 --> 00:45:22,720 First of all, your lost and sinful condition that you were born into because of the fall. 807 00:45:22,720 --> 00:45:25,760 Secondly, who Jesus truly is. 808 00:45:25,760 --> 00:45:31,000 And third, and this is the one that I'm constantly talking to people about, why is he alone able 809 00:45:31,000 --> 00:45:33,720 to make atonement for sin? 810 00:45:33,720 --> 00:45:40,360 Because the death of some dude 2,000 years ago on a Roman cross is meaningless if he's 811 00:45:40,360 --> 00:45:42,160 not who he says he is. 812 00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:47,480 Why is he capable of atoning for your sin? 813 00:45:47,480 --> 00:45:50,920 So that's a good start, but it's not enough just to acknowledge that those facts are out 814 00:45:50,920 --> 00:45:51,920 there, right? 815 00:45:51,920 --> 00:45:54,140 You have to give assent to them that they're true. 816 00:45:54,140 --> 00:45:58,160 But even that's not enough because the demons know those things are true and they are not 817 00:45:58,160 --> 00:46:00,340 believers, right? 818 00:46:00,340 --> 00:46:04,720 So yeah, there's the facts, I assent that they're true, but there has to be a third 819 00:46:04,720 --> 00:46:05,760 component, right? 820 00:46:05,760 --> 00:46:10,160 And that's what, this is the tipping point, is it not? 821 00:46:10,160 --> 00:46:15,320 I have to abandon trust in myself completely. 822 00:46:15,320 --> 00:46:22,960 I have to abandon my own good works in any way that they merit any favor before God or 823 00:46:22,960 --> 00:46:27,240 that anything in me can somehow earn my way to heaven. 824 00:46:27,240 --> 00:46:38,040 I have to abandon that completely, not 50-50, not 90-10, completely, that I cannot do it. 825 00:46:38,040 --> 00:46:45,120 And instead trust only in Jesus as the Christ and as the Son of God, relying solely upon 826 00:46:45,120 --> 00:46:49,880 the sacrifice that he made on that cross and relying solely upon the resurrection, the 827 00:46:49,880 --> 00:46:56,720 fact that he was alive again as a guarantee that someday I will be raised to life, solely, 828 00:46:56,720 --> 00:46:58,600 nothing in me. 829 00:46:58,600 --> 00:47:03,880 And listen, it's not for lack of evidence that people disbelieve today. 830 00:47:03,880 --> 00:47:05,020 The evidence abounds. 831 00:47:05,020 --> 00:47:09,080 If you want it, the evidence is there, the verdict is clear, the question is, will you 832 00:47:09,080 --> 00:47:10,880 abandon yourself? 833 00:47:10,880 --> 00:47:12,520 Will you submit to that truth? 834 00:47:12,520 --> 00:47:17,720 That is the crux of the whole thing. 835 00:47:17,720 --> 00:47:20,220 This is the kicker. 836 00:47:20,220 --> 00:47:24,000 We saw this in our study last week in John's epilogue, remember? 837 00:47:24,000 --> 00:47:26,640 What's Jesus' command to Peter? 838 00:47:26,640 --> 00:47:28,680 You follow me. 839 00:47:28,680 --> 00:47:34,000 Abandon yourself and follow me as the Lord. 840 00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:37,360 So believing means more than just saying, well, thank you, Jesus, I trust you as my 841 00:47:37,360 --> 00:47:38,600 Savior, now I'm all set. 842 00:47:38,600 --> 00:47:42,560 I can go back to prioritizing my life, doing what I want, and yeah, I'll still devote a 843 00:47:42,560 --> 00:47:45,880 sliver of my time and energy to you. 844 00:47:45,880 --> 00:47:47,280 Sure. 845 00:47:47,280 --> 00:47:48,680 That's not it. 846 00:47:48,680 --> 00:47:49,680 That's not it. 847 00:47:49,680 --> 00:47:50,680 That's not following. 848 00:47:50,680 --> 00:47:51,680 That's not dying to self. 849 00:47:51,680 --> 00:47:53,080 That's not taking up a cross. 850 00:47:53,080 --> 00:47:56,260 That's not submitting to Jesus as Lord. 851 00:47:56,260 --> 00:48:00,040 Not just Savior, but Lord. 852 00:48:00,040 --> 00:48:03,520 The problem that so many of us face today is that we really do want Jesus to be our 853 00:48:03,520 --> 00:48:09,080 Lord, so the basic idea is there in our minds, but then our hearts betray us when we go set 854 00:48:09,080 --> 00:48:12,520 out to pursue everything but the Lord. 855 00:48:12,520 --> 00:48:17,640 All these things in the world that we're running around so busy with. 856 00:48:17,640 --> 00:48:21,920 One of the great lessons from the Gospel of John is how many times we see people in the 857 00:48:21,920 --> 00:48:26,360 narrative, some in Galilee, some in Judea, falsely believe. 858 00:48:26,360 --> 00:48:27,360 They show eagerness. 859 00:48:27,360 --> 00:48:29,000 Oh, we want to hear from Jesus. 860 00:48:29,000 --> 00:48:31,560 We want to see him. 861 00:48:31,560 --> 00:48:32,560 There's energy there. 862 00:48:32,560 --> 00:48:36,040 There's excitement there, but the reality is they're looking for signs. 863 00:48:36,040 --> 00:48:37,040 They want miracles. 864 00:48:37,040 --> 00:48:41,200 They want stuff from him, and so they mutter and they vacillate and they're fickle, and 865 00:48:41,200 --> 00:48:43,200 one minute they're in, the next they're out. 866 00:48:43,200 --> 00:48:44,720 Oh, he didn't do a miracle today? 867 00:48:44,720 --> 00:48:48,080 Well, I'm on with my business. 868 00:48:48,080 --> 00:48:50,720 That's the story of John's Gospel. 869 00:48:50,720 --> 00:48:52,160 So take it as a warning. 870 00:48:52,160 --> 00:48:59,000 Jesus said he would not entrust himself to such people who are double-minded, who vacillate 871 00:48:59,000 --> 00:49:04,600 back and forth, or who are self-centered in their approach to him. 872 00:49:04,600 --> 00:49:08,840 And it reminds me of what he says to the church of Ephesus in Revelation 2. 873 00:49:08,840 --> 00:49:10,040 He says, I know your deeds. 874 00:49:10,040 --> 00:49:13,820 I know your toil and your perseverance, but I have this against you. 875 00:49:13,820 --> 00:49:17,120 You have left your first love. 876 00:49:17,120 --> 00:49:18,620 You've left. 877 00:49:18,620 --> 00:49:22,620 So there's actual Christian work being done there in Ephesus, but the heart motivation 878 00:49:22,620 --> 00:49:24,520 for it is lacking. 879 00:49:24,520 --> 00:49:26,720 It's empty. 880 00:49:26,720 --> 00:49:30,080 And it brings us back to the question that Jesus asked Peter. 881 00:49:30,080 --> 00:49:32,640 What was the big question at the end in chapter 21? 882 00:49:32,640 --> 00:49:37,480 Above all else, he said, Peter, do you love me? 883 00:49:37,480 --> 00:49:40,920 And that question hangs in the air for each one of us as we assess our own hearts. 884 00:49:40,920 --> 00:49:44,500 Do we love him? 885 00:49:44,500 --> 00:49:47,900 Your life will show it if you do. 886 00:49:47,900 --> 00:49:48,900 And you say, well, I do. 887 00:49:48,900 --> 00:49:50,880 I do love him, and I do believe good. 888 00:49:50,880 --> 00:49:51,880 Okay. 889 00:49:51,880 --> 00:49:56,780 Now fix your eyes on him and pursue him with a greater passion than you pursue anything 890 00:49:56,780 --> 00:49:58,800 else in this world. 891 00:49:58,800 --> 00:50:00,680 Make him your first love. 892 00:50:00,680 --> 00:50:04,720 And when you've made him your first love, let that love then overflow into every area 893 00:50:04,720 --> 00:50:09,960 of your life to love and service to your brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, in serving 894 00:50:09,960 --> 00:50:14,880 each other, in loving your neighbor as yourself, in all those ways. 895 00:50:14,880 --> 00:50:20,800 But let it start with loving Christ and letting that define every area of your life. 896 00:50:20,800 --> 00:50:26,080 Listen, at the end of these two and a half years of study, it's my prayer that the gospel 897 00:50:26,080 --> 00:50:29,720 of John has brought you closer to Jesus than ever before. 898 00:50:29,720 --> 00:50:33,360 That his love for you, you feel that more deeply. 899 00:50:33,360 --> 00:50:38,640 His sacrifice for you is more powerful in your heart than it was two and a half years 900 00:50:38,640 --> 00:50:39,640 ago. 901 00:50:39,640 --> 00:50:43,160 And I pray that you will listen carefully to John's testimony because that's what he 902 00:50:43,160 --> 00:50:44,160 wants to give. 903 00:50:44,160 --> 00:50:45,660 Let me just read these words again. 904 00:50:45,660 --> 00:50:46,960 This was our call to worship. 905 00:50:46,960 --> 00:50:54,480 John in his first epistle says, that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, 906 00:50:54,480 --> 00:50:59,080 which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands 907 00:50:59,080 --> 00:51:05,600 concerning the word of life, we've seen it, we testify it, and we proclaim to you eternal 908 00:51:05,600 --> 00:51:08,540 life. 909 00:51:08,540 --> 00:51:14,520 That's what John says to you across 2000 years today, to us in this building today, do you 910 00:51:14,520 --> 00:51:16,480 truly believe? 911 00:51:16,480 --> 00:51:21,480 Let's bow our heads. 912 00:51:21,480 --> 00:51:30,960 I'm going to give you a minute or so to answer that question in your heart. 913 00:51:30,960 --> 00:51:36,880 Maybe to answer a couple of questions about believing, about loving Jesus, about making 914 00:51:36,880 --> 00:51:41,040 him your first love. 915 00:51:41,040 --> 00:51:46,640 And if you failed or fallen short in this area, as I have so many times every single 916 00:51:46,640 --> 00:51:51,960 day, know that there is grace when you come to his throne. 917 00:51:51,960 --> 00:51:58,480 Ask him, confess, ask for forgiveness, recommit your heart to him even now before we sing 918 00:51:58,480 --> 00:52:09,400 some more.