WEBVTT 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:03.980 A while back, I was in Pennsylvania, where I 00:00:03.980 --> 00:00:06.780 grew up, and I was driving somewhere, and I had 00:00:06.780 --> 00:00:09.480 the GPS on, because it had been a little bit, 00:00:09.599 --> 00:00:12.460 and it was telling me to go a certain way. But 00:00:12.460 --> 00:00:15.599 I remember thinking, nah, I know these roads. 00:00:15.720 --> 00:00:18.500 I grew up here. I know the back roads to the 00:00:18.500 --> 00:00:21.519 main roads, and I know all the shortcuts. And 00:00:21.519 --> 00:00:23.879 see, there's this special kind of confidence 00:00:23.879 --> 00:00:27.579 that comes when you're driving roads you knew 00:00:27.579 --> 00:00:31.339 before Google Maps existed. before MapQuest existed, 00:00:31.579 --> 00:00:33.960 back when you had to open the Atlas or fold open 00:00:33.960 --> 00:00:37.719 the map and drive. And see, I knew the turns, 00:00:37.960 --> 00:00:40.020 I knew the shortcuts, I knew the back roads, 00:00:40.179 --> 00:00:44.439 or at least I thought I did. See, what I didn't 00:00:44.439 --> 00:00:46.759 know was that some road work was being done, 00:00:46.880 --> 00:00:50.539 and the road that I wanted to be on was closed. 00:00:51.159 --> 00:00:53.280 And the alternative road that I knew was actually 00:00:53.280 --> 00:00:55.539 being totally rerouted to a different direction. 00:00:55.619 --> 00:00:57.700 Keep in mind, this is Pennsylvania, where there's 00:00:57.700 --> 00:00:59.799 more than one road to get to where you're going. 00:00:59.880 --> 00:01:02.420 Like, if it's closed, go into Anchorage. Sorry. 00:01:03.039 --> 00:01:05.480 This was like, there's like 15 directions that 00:01:05.480 --> 00:01:07.299 you can get to the same place. And I think I 00:01:07.299 --> 00:01:11.400 tried 14 of them. And all of the, something was 00:01:11.400 --> 00:01:12.959 up, and I was like, what in the world is going 00:01:12.959 --> 00:01:15.980 on? And the whole time, my map's like, rerouting, 00:01:16.120 --> 00:01:19.040 rerouting. It was basically saying, hey, idiot, 00:01:19.140 --> 00:01:20.799 why don't you follow what I'm trying to tell 00:01:20.799 --> 00:01:23.760 you to do? Because I can tell you that these 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:28.040 are all closed. So it didn't work out. And the 00:01:28.040 --> 00:01:30.680 map kept trying to redirect me. But I didn't 00:01:30.680 --> 00:01:32.459 want to listen because I trusted what I thought 00:01:32.459 --> 00:01:35.060 I knew more than the direction I was being given. 00:01:37.180 --> 00:01:39.900 See, there's lost because you don't know the 00:01:39.900 --> 00:01:43.939 way. And then there's lost because you're convinced 00:01:43.939 --> 00:01:48.629 that you already do know the way. And that's 00:01:48.629 --> 00:01:52.810 where we are in John chapter 5. See, if you remember 00:01:52.810 --> 00:01:57.689 back to last week, Jesus in John chapter 5 is 00:01:57.689 --> 00:02:01.349 talking to these religious leaders. These are 00:02:01.349 --> 00:02:04.189 the Pharisees, the Sadducees, some of them who 00:02:04.189 --> 00:02:06.349 are in training. Scripture doesn't tell us exactly 00:02:06.349 --> 00:02:09.189 which group, but these are the people that they 00:02:09.189 --> 00:02:12.610 know the roads. They know the lay of the land. 00:02:12.750 --> 00:02:17.270 They know God's word. They had the scriptures. 00:02:17.930 --> 00:02:20.430 They had Moses, their categories, their rules, 00:02:20.669 --> 00:02:25.009 religious training, their expectations. But Jesus 00:02:25.009 --> 00:02:30.710 is directly confronting what they thought they 00:02:30.710 --> 00:02:34.110 knew. And near the center of the passage, Jesus 00:02:34.110 --> 00:02:38.889 says this in John chapter 5, verse 39 and 40. 00:02:39.990 --> 00:02:42.610 You pour over the scriptures because you think 00:02:42.610 --> 00:02:45.639 you have eternal life in them. and yet they testify 00:02:45.639 --> 00:02:48.199 about me, but you are not willing to come to 00:02:48.199 --> 00:02:51.580 me so that you might have life. See, guys, last 00:02:51.580 --> 00:02:54.599 week we were in John chapter 5, verse 19 through 00:02:54.599 --> 00:02:59.240 29, and the big idea, the call, was look to Jesus. 00:02:59.439 --> 00:03:01.340 If you remember these little white bracelets, 00:03:01.599 --> 00:03:05.439 the reminder to look to Jesus, that's actually 00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:08.539 part of the mission of our kids program, Radiant 00:03:08.539 --> 00:03:12.250 Kids, is to have Christ -centered kids that look 00:03:12.250 --> 00:03:14.789 to Jesus. But that's beyond just for our kids. 00:03:15.349 --> 00:03:19.110 That's a call that we all have is look to Jesus. 00:03:20.009 --> 00:03:23.509 And so this week, as we continue, we're still 00:03:23.509 --> 00:03:27.629 going to look to Jesus. But now Jesus presses 00:03:27.629 --> 00:03:31.389 us to take the next step. As we look to him, 00:03:31.409 --> 00:03:36.090 we see the son who gives life. And the son says, 00:03:36.250 --> 00:03:39.729 come to me. so that you may have life. So the 00:03:39.729 --> 00:03:44.169 big idea this morning, it's simple. Come to Jesus. 00:03:45.090 --> 00:03:47.830 We're going to walk through the passage in three 00:03:47.830 --> 00:03:50.830 movements. First, we're going to look at these 00:03:50.830 --> 00:03:54.830 witnesses that point to Jesus. Second, we're 00:03:54.830 --> 00:03:58.650 going to see how the scriptures testify about 00:03:58.650 --> 00:04:01.330 Jesus. And third, we're going to see that the 00:04:01.330 --> 00:04:04.449 heart must come to Jesus. But before we do that, 00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:06.900 You're not here just to hear my words. We're 00:04:06.900 --> 00:04:09.539 here for God's words. So let's pray and let's 00:04:09.539 --> 00:04:12.199 ask that the Lord would guide our hearts and 00:04:12.199 --> 00:04:16.319 our minds as we open his word. Heavenly Father, 00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:21.819 we praise you because you are so worthy of all 00:04:21.819 --> 00:04:25.620 honor, of all praise, of all glory, of all dominion. 00:04:25.899 --> 00:04:28.319 Lord, as we open your word this morning, I just 00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:31.680 pray that you would be at work in my heart, in 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:33.519 the hearts of everyone that's here this morning. 00:04:35.299 --> 00:04:40.600 Lord, help us to focus on what it is that you 00:04:40.600 --> 00:04:45.819 are saying. Lord, if there are things that have 00:04:45.819 --> 00:04:48.420 our focus, other things that we are looking to 00:04:48.420 --> 00:04:52.100 right now, I pray that you would help us to turn 00:04:52.100 --> 00:04:58.860 our eyes to you. Turn our eyes to Jesus. Lord, 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:07.370 we thank you. In Jesus' name. Amen. So I mentioned 00:05:07.370 --> 00:05:11.750 these three movements. We're going to look verse 00:05:11.750 --> 00:05:14.610 by verse, and we're going to start with John 00:05:14.610 --> 00:05:21.029 chapter 5, verse 30. So when we look at what 00:05:21.029 --> 00:05:25.730 is being said, we want to make sure that we're 00:05:25.730 --> 00:05:27.629 being faithful to the text. We're not reading 00:05:27.629 --> 00:05:31.370 things into it. That's called fancy term eisegesis. 00:05:31.790 --> 00:05:34.370 We want to do something called exegesis, which 00:05:34.370 --> 00:05:38.050 is look at the text and let God's word be the 00:05:38.050 --> 00:05:40.069 one that speaks. So we're going to go verse by 00:05:40.069 --> 00:05:44.310 verse. So chapter 5, verse 30, it says, I can 00:05:44.310 --> 00:05:48.389 do nothing on my own. I judge only as I hear, 00:05:48.449 --> 00:05:51.490 and my judgment is just, because I do not seek 00:05:51.490 --> 00:05:53.610 my own will, but the will of him who sent me. 00:05:54.189 --> 00:05:58.069 Now, depending on what Bible you have, our book 00:05:58.069 --> 00:06:00.389 of John doesn't have this, but you might see 00:06:00.860 --> 00:06:04.279 these letters in red. And that means these are 00:06:04.279 --> 00:06:06.899 words that Jesus is saying. And even if your 00:06:06.899 --> 00:06:13.579 Bible doesn't have something in red, these are 00:06:13.579 --> 00:06:16.000 words that Jesus is saying. So when he says, 00:06:16.079 --> 00:06:18.360 I can do nothing on my own. I judge only as I 00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:21.160 hear, and my judgment is just. Don't hear, oh, 00:06:21.220 --> 00:06:22.860 the pastor saying he's going to judge. No, this 00:06:22.860 --> 00:06:27.420 is Jesus's words. So we want to focus. on him. 00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:30.339 See, Jesus is saying he's not acting independently 00:06:30.339 --> 00:06:35.360 from the Father. He's not building out his own 00:06:35.360 --> 00:06:39.829 platform. He's not chasing his own agenda. He's 00:06:39.829 --> 00:06:42.009 not seeking his own will apart from the Father. 00:06:42.170 --> 00:06:44.569 And so some of this comes back into the verses 00:06:44.569 --> 00:06:46.589 that we were just coming through. Kind of seems 00:06:46.589 --> 00:06:48.649 a little bit abrupt that we're jumping in and 00:06:48.649 --> 00:06:50.750 saying, I can do nothing of my own on my own. 00:06:50.769 --> 00:06:53.470 I judge only as I hear. This is in relation to 00:06:53.470 --> 00:06:55.810 what Jesus has been saying to these religious 00:06:55.810 --> 00:06:58.930 teachers. Back earlier in chapter 5, there was 00:06:58.930 --> 00:07:02.540 this man who was... by a pool and this angel 00:07:02.540 --> 00:07:04.360 would come and would stir up these waters and 00:07:04.360 --> 00:07:06.019 the first person to get in and touch it would 00:07:06.019 --> 00:07:10.660 be healed. This man was 38 years in this paralysis 00:07:10.660 --> 00:07:12.339 and he's standing there and Jesus comes and he 00:07:12.339 --> 00:07:15.759 heals him. And the religious leaders are like, 00:07:15.879 --> 00:07:21.120 what's going on here? What's going on? By whose 00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:22.379 power are you doing this? You did this on the 00:07:22.379 --> 00:07:25.319 Sabbath. And they start looking at the law and 00:07:25.319 --> 00:07:27.860 they start questioning Jesus. And so Jesus has 00:07:27.860 --> 00:07:29.860 been talking to this religious leader. So this 00:07:29.860 --> 00:07:33.399 is the continuation. And Jesus is saying, guys, 00:07:33.500 --> 00:07:35.519 I'm not here to build my own platform, chase 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:37.920 my own agenda, seek my own will apart from the 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:42.019 Father. He says his judgment is just because 00:07:42.019 --> 00:07:45.160 he seeks the will of his Father who sent him. 00:07:45.519 --> 00:07:50.360 Now, back in verse 18, John tells us why these 00:07:50.360 --> 00:07:53.000 religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus. So if 00:07:53.000 --> 00:07:56.360 you look back in John chapter 5, Back to verse 00:07:56.360 --> 00:07:59.720 18, it says this, this is why the Jews began 00:07:59.720 --> 00:08:03.019 trying all the more to kill him. Not only was 00:08:03.019 --> 00:08:05.279 he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling 00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:08.860 God his own father and making himself equal to 00:08:08.860 --> 00:08:13.160 God. But this doesn't scare Jesus off. He doesn't 00:08:13.160 --> 00:08:16.660 back away from this. He doesn't soften his claim 00:08:16.660 --> 00:08:20.199 of who he is. Instead, he shows that the Father 00:08:20.199 --> 00:08:24.110 and the Son are not divided. The son does what 00:08:24.110 --> 00:08:27.269 he sees the father doing. The father gives life, 00:08:27.449 --> 00:08:31.449 the son gives life. The father judges and he 00:08:31.449 --> 00:08:34.490 is entrusted judgment to the son. So if these 00:08:34.490 --> 00:08:38.330 leaders reject Jesus, they're not defending the 00:08:38.330 --> 00:08:41.009 father, defending God. They're actually rejecting 00:08:41.009 --> 00:08:44.470 the one that the father sent. And Jesus is walking 00:08:44.470 --> 00:08:48.429 them through and confronting this. So then when 00:08:48.429 --> 00:08:53.529 we look at verses 31 and 32. It says this, if 00:08:53.529 --> 00:08:56.330 I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 00:08:56.870 --> 00:08:59.690 There is another who testifies about me, and 00:08:59.690 --> 00:09:01.690 I know that the testimony he gives about me is 00:09:01.690 --> 00:09:04.490 true. Jesus is not saying here like, hey guys, 00:09:04.669 --> 00:09:07.970 my words are false, so you need to hear from 00:09:07.970 --> 00:09:10.309 somebody else. He's actually speaking in legal 00:09:10.309 --> 00:09:12.190 terms that these religious leaders would have 00:09:12.190 --> 00:09:15.350 understood. Because back in Deuteronomy, in the 00:09:15.350 --> 00:09:20.190 law, a claim was established as truth by two 00:09:20.190 --> 00:09:23.120 or more witnesses. So Jesus is saying, look, 00:09:23.299 --> 00:09:27.700 it's not just me saying this. You want testimony? 00:09:28.500 --> 00:09:31.899 God has given you testimony, and I'm going to, 00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:35.059 within the structure of the law, actually provide 00:09:35.059 --> 00:09:39.620 the witnesses. So this isn't just me saying this. 00:09:41.080 --> 00:09:44.200 And so he begins to lay out these witnesses. 00:09:44.559 --> 00:09:49.240 So first, he says how John the Baptist bore witness. 00:09:49.899 --> 00:09:52.940 So if we look back at John chapter 1 verse 29, 00:09:53.220 --> 00:09:57.240 John the Baptist said, here is the Lamb of God 00:09:57.240 --> 00:10:01.379 who takes away the sin of the world. And then 00:10:01.379 --> 00:10:05.399 in verse 1, chapter 1 verse 34, he says, I've 00:10:05.399 --> 00:10:09.019 seen and testified that this is the Son of God. 00:10:09.720 --> 00:10:13.740 So if we come back to John chapter 5 and we look 00:10:13.740 --> 00:10:16.580 at verse 33, he says, you sent messengers to 00:10:16.580 --> 00:10:20.860 John and he testified to the truth. This is what 00:10:20.860 --> 00:10:22.580 John was saying. Here is the Lamb of God who 00:10:22.580 --> 00:10:24.379 takes away the sin of the world. I have seen 00:10:24.379 --> 00:10:26.799 and testified this is the Son of God. See, John 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:30.080 was a witness, but John was not the destination. 00:10:30.139 --> 00:10:32.519 John was not the Messiah. And we've gone through 00:10:32.519 --> 00:10:35.080 the chapters where there's people coming and 00:10:35.080 --> 00:10:37.879 they're asking, and John's like, guys, no, it 00:10:37.879 --> 00:10:43.500 is Jesus. He is the focus. So John was a witness, 00:10:43.720 --> 00:10:47.159 but John wasn't the destination. And then we 00:10:47.159 --> 00:10:51.759 see in John chapter 5, Verse 35, Jesus says, 00:10:51.840 --> 00:10:55.779 John was a burning and shining lamp, and you 00:10:55.779 --> 00:10:58.980 were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 00:10:59.940 --> 00:11:04.299 See, John was a lamp, but Jesus is the light. 00:11:05.179 --> 00:11:08.620 Jesus calls John a lamp on purpose. Actually, 00:11:08.620 --> 00:11:11.779 the word that he uses there matches the same 00:11:11.779 --> 00:11:18.970 Greek word that would be used in the Sorry, guys. 00:11:19.409 --> 00:11:24.350 Psalm 132, verse 17. This is a passage that these 00:11:24.350 --> 00:11:26.370 religious leaders would have been pretty familiar 00:11:26.370 --> 00:11:28.129 with because it was talking about the coming 00:11:28.129 --> 00:11:32.809 Messiah. So Psalm 132, 17, and if you only have 00:11:32.809 --> 00:11:34.909 your book of John, it'll be up here on the screen 00:11:34.909 --> 00:11:39.490 behind me. Psalm 132, 17, it says, there I will 00:11:39.490 --> 00:11:42.330 make a horn grow for David. I've prepared a lamp 00:11:42.330 --> 00:11:46.190 for my anointed one. See, in Psalm 132, it's 00:11:46.190 --> 00:11:49.419 looking. towards God's promise to David, toward 00:11:49.419 --> 00:11:52.940 the coming king, the anointed one. So when Jesus 00:11:52.940 --> 00:11:56.100 calls John a lamp, he's not making John the Messiah. 00:11:56.179 --> 00:12:00.720 He is showing John's role as a witness. And he's 00:12:00.720 --> 00:12:03.919 actually specifically using language that would 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:09.340 have registered with these leaders. And that's 00:12:09.340 --> 00:12:15.399 why John could say in John chapter 3, verse 30, 00:12:16.519 --> 00:12:19.539 He must increase. Jesus must increase, but I 00:12:19.539 --> 00:12:22.600 must decrease. Because John was a lamp that points 00:12:22.600 --> 00:12:28.080 to Jesus. John wasn't trying to get glory for 00:12:28.080 --> 00:12:30.759 himself. John the Baptist's whole ministry was 00:12:30.759 --> 00:12:36.019 meant to say, look there, look to him. He is 00:12:36.019 --> 00:12:40.259 the one. So John was pointing to Jesus. But what's 00:12:40.259 --> 00:12:44.340 really interesting here is as Jesus is referencing 00:12:44.340 --> 00:12:47.659 John as a witness, He's actually also extending 00:12:47.659 --> 00:12:53.639 grace and mercy. So John chapter 5 verse 34, 00:12:53.940 --> 00:12:57.620 he says, I don't receive human testimony, but 00:12:57.620 --> 00:13:00.019 I say these things so that you may be saved. 00:13:00.220 --> 00:13:04.340 So Jesus is actually saying, I don't need John's 00:13:04.340 --> 00:13:07.320 endorsement. I don't need the endorsement of 00:13:07.320 --> 00:13:10.340 man. But he brings up John's witness for the 00:13:10.340 --> 00:13:12.919 religious leader's sake because it said for a 00:13:12.919 --> 00:13:15.940 while they rejoiced in the light of John's message 00:13:15.940 --> 00:13:19.399 about the Messiah. So even in confrontation here, 00:13:19.440 --> 00:13:22.080 Jesus is actually being merciful. He's exposing 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:24.840 their unbelief, but he's also giving them the 00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:28.059 testimony that leads to life. Testimony that 00:13:28.059 --> 00:13:30.220 they rejoiced in this light as John the Baptist 00:13:30.220 --> 00:13:32.679 was saying, the Messiah is coming. The religious 00:13:32.679 --> 00:13:35.120 leaders are like, oh yeah, listen to this dude. 00:13:36.679 --> 00:13:41.360 And then now they're like, oh, but maybe not 00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:43.840 this Jesus guy. Like he doesn't quite fit the 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:47.559 mold of what we view as the Messiah. So Jesus 00:13:47.559 --> 00:13:49.980 is being merciful. He's saying, look, guys, you 00:13:49.980 --> 00:13:52.340 don't believe, but here's this testimony that 00:13:52.340 --> 00:13:55.480 leads to life. You rejoice in John's light. I 00:13:55.480 --> 00:14:01.059 am the one. So first John bore witness, and then 00:14:01.059 --> 00:14:04.980 we see that the works of Jesus. their witness. 00:14:05.220 --> 00:14:08.440 So Jesus is bringing up now a second witness. 00:14:08.860 --> 00:14:13.980 So John chapter 5 verse 36. Jesus says, but I 00:14:13.980 --> 00:14:16.100 have a greater testimony than John's because 00:14:16.100 --> 00:14:18.399 of the works that the Father has given me to 00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:22.100 accomplish. These very works I am doing testify 00:14:22.100 --> 00:14:26.840 about me that the Father has sent me. See, the 00:14:26.840 --> 00:14:30.080 works of Jesus testify about Jesus. See, these 00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:34.309 signs aren't random miracles. They're not magic 00:14:34.309 --> 00:14:37.710 tricks. They're not just displays of power. They 00:14:37.710 --> 00:14:43.049 reveal who Jesus is. When Nicodemus came back 00:14:43.049 --> 00:14:45.710 in chapter 3 to Jesus, he looks at him and he 00:14:45.710 --> 00:14:51.250 says, these things you're doing, they have to 00:14:51.250 --> 00:14:53.649 be from God. So even the religious leaders are 00:14:53.649 --> 00:14:56.009 saying like, okay, this is not just like, you 00:14:56.009 --> 00:14:58.649 know, the basic thing. Like, this guy's at least 00:14:58.649 --> 00:15:01.049 a prophet because the only way he's doing these 00:15:01.049 --> 00:15:05.799 things is if God is the one behind it. And so 00:15:05.799 --> 00:15:09.779 Jesus is using this, is the works that the Father 00:15:09.779 --> 00:15:12.480 has given him. And this connects back then to 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:15.659 what happened earlier in John chapter 5, when 00:15:15.659 --> 00:15:17.740 Jesus had healed this man who had been disabled 00:15:17.740 --> 00:15:20.980 for 38 years. That miracle was mercy, but it 00:15:20.980 --> 00:15:25.480 also was a witness. Jesus was not just helping 00:15:25.480 --> 00:15:29.740 a hurting man, he was also revealing who he is. 00:15:31.720 --> 00:15:35.360 The healing testified, this is the one sent by 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:39.980 the Father. This is the Son who gives life. This 00:15:39.980 --> 00:15:43.120 is the one who has authority over brokenness. 00:15:44.299 --> 00:15:46.960 This is the one who has authority over weakness 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:52.460 and sin and death. Then John, the author John, 00:15:52.580 --> 00:15:55.379 tells us near the end of his gospel why these 00:15:55.379 --> 00:15:58.460 signs were written down. So John chapter 20. 00:15:59.159 --> 00:16:02.539 verse 31, all the way at the end, towards the 00:16:02.539 --> 00:16:04.940 end of the book here, John, the author says, 00:16:05.080 --> 00:16:07.059 but these are written so that you may believe 00:16:07.059 --> 00:16:10.620 that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and 00:16:10.620 --> 00:16:13.639 that by believing, you may have life in his name. 00:16:13.860 --> 00:16:16.100 See, the signs point to Jesus so that we would 00:16:16.100 --> 00:16:19.840 believe and have life in his name. So the second 00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:22.960 witness was the works and the signs that the 00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:26.480 Father had given for Jesus to accomplish. Then 00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:30.000 we get to this third. And that's the Father. 00:16:30.360 --> 00:16:34.460 God the Father bore witness. So John chapter 00:16:34.460 --> 00:16:39.740 5, verse 37 and 38. The Father who sent me has 00:16:39.740 --> 00:16:43.620 himself testified about me. You have not heard 00:16:43.620 --> 00:16:46.679 his voice at any time, and you have not, haven't 00:16:46.679 --> 00:16:49.340 seen his form. You don't have his word residing 00:16:49.340 --> 00:16:51.879 in you because you don't believe the one he sent. 00:16:52.860 --> 00:16:56.960 Ouch. It's a hard word. See, these religious 00:16:56.960 --> 00:17:00.659 leaders, You could say these are Bible people. 00:17:01.879 --> 00:17:05.099 These religious leaders are men who studied, 00:17:05.319 --> 00:17:09.460 debated, memorized, and taught the scriptures. 00:17:09.720 --> 00:17:13.099 And Jesus says, you don't actually have God's 00:17:13.099 --> 00:17:17.920 word residing in you. Then he tells them what 00:17:17.920 --> 00:17:20.299 exposed it. It's because they do not believe 00:17:20.299 --> 00:17:23.240 the one the Father sent. Jesus isn't saying, 00:17:23.279 --> 00:17:28.119 hey, you guys don't know the Bible. You guys 00:17:28.119 --> 00:17:32.980 have failed, and you're all terrible. It's not 00:17:32.980 --> 00:17:35.759 what he's saying. He's saying, guys, the piece 00:17:35.759 --> 00:17:38.019 where there's failure is that you missed the 00:17:38.019 --> 00:17:43.960 one who all of this is pointing to. That's when 00:17:43.960 --> 00:17:46.359 Jesus says, you don't have his word residing 00:17:46.359 --> 00:17:51.000 in you. See, this is exactly what Jesus said 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:54.839 earlier in chapter 5. We saw this last week in 00:17:54.839 --> 00:17:59.920 verse 23. Jesus said, anyone who does not honor 00:17:59.920 --> 00:18:03.519 the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 00:18:04.380 --> 00:18:09.579 See, you can't reject Jesus and honor God. You 00:18:09.579 --> 00:18:12.400 cannot dismiss the Son and claim to love the 00:18:12.400 --> 00:18:15.779 Father. The Father bears witness to the Son. 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:20.019 So look at what Jesus is saying. He's saying, 00:18:20.099 --> 00:18:25.319 John the Baptist points to the Messiah. The works 00:18:25.319 --> 00:18:29.500 point. the Messiah. The Father points to the 00:18:29.500 --> 00:18:33.339 Messiah, and Jesus is the Messiah. See, the issue 00:18:33.339 --> 00:18:39.200 is not that God had been unclear. The issue is 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:41.980 actually that they don't want the one to whom 00:18:41.980 --> 00:18:45.759 all the witnesses point. Like turn -by -turn 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:48.180 directions on a map, like that GPS that I chose 00:18:48.180 --> 00:18:50.579 not to follow. All the witnesses are actually 00:18:50.579 --> 00:18:53.059 pointing in the same direction and to the same 00:18:53.059 --> 00:18:56.880 destination. But These religious leaders trust 00:18:56.880 --> 00:18:59.819 what they think they know more than the actual 00:18:59.819 --> 00:19:04.859 direction that God has given. And at least for 00:19:04.859 --> 00:19:07.180 me, this is where the passage kind of pressed 00:19:07.180 --> 00:19:10.640 in on my heart a little bit. See, life's not 00:19:10.640 --> 00:19:13.400 found in the witnesses themselves. John cannot 00:19:13.400 --> 00:19:16.279 give life. Miracles and the works of Jesus cannot 00:19:16.279 --> 00:19:18.819 give life. Religious experience cannot give life. 00:19:19.309 --> 00:19:22.269 Bible knowledge cannot give life. A reputation 00:19:22.269 --> 00:19:26.430 for being serious about God cannot give life. 00:19:27.470 --> 00:19:33.289 Jesus gives life. So come to Jesus for life. 00:19:35.130 --> 00:19:40.890 And as Jesus continues on, he comes to verses 00:19:40.890 --> 00:19:48.440 39 and 40, and we see this. You pour over. the 00:19:48.440 --> 00:19:50.900 scriptures, because you think you have eternal 00:19:50.900 --> 00:19:53.039 life in them, and yet they testify about me. 00:19:54.460 --> 00:19:58.140 But you are not willing to come to me so that 00:19:58.140 --> 00:20:01.279 you may have life. See, Jesus is moving from 00:20:01.279 --> 00:20:03.700 these initial witnesses to the scriptures, which 00:20:03.700 --> 00:20:06.519 actually is really the fourth witness that's 00:20:06.519 --> 00:20:10.859 here. And this is kind of the center of the passage. 00:20:11.059 --> 00:20:15.880 If we had like a crux of this passage, I think 00:20:15.880 --> 00:20:19.710 the verse is here. would be 39 and 40. You pour 00:20:19.710 --> 00:20:21.529 over the scriptures because you think you have 00:20:21.529 --> 00:20:23.650 eternal life in them, and yet they testify about 00:20:23.650 --> 00:20:26.170 me, but you are not willing to come to me so 00:20:26.170 --> 00:20:30.069 that you may have life. Sit with the irony here 00:20:30.069 --> 00:20:34.329 for a minute. These men, they're not irreligious. 00:20:35.210 --> 00:20:40.630 They're not casual pagans. They searched the 00:20:40.630 --> 00:20:45.910 scriptures. They claimed Moses. They cared deeply. 00:20:46.490 --> 00:20:51.789 about the law. They cared about holiness, tradition, 00:20:52.269 --> 00:20:55.809 Sabbath, religious identity. They had or they 00:20:55.809 --> 00:20:58.190 were working on having the first five books of 00:20:58.190 --> 00:21:00.390 the Bible memorized and probably most of the 00:21:00.390 --> 00:21:07.009 Psalms as well. And Jesus says, guys, you missed 00:21:07.009 --> 00:21:12.109 the point. Not because they read too much Bible. 00:21:12.210 --> 00:21:14.950 That's not the problem. Jesus doesn't rebuke 00:21:14.950 --> 00:21:20.279 them for searching the Scriptures. He rebukes 00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:22.279 them for searching the Scriptures while refusing 00:21:22.279 --> 00:21:26.880 the one the Scriptures were written about. They 00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:29.700 had the map in their hands. They had Google Maps 00:21:29.700 --> 00:21:34.900 telling them exactly which direction to go, but 00:21:34.900 --> 00:21:36.819 they would not go where the map was leading. 00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:44.819 You can know Bible verses, and you can miss Jesus. 00:21:45.900 --> 00:21:51.180 You can know doctrine, and you can miss Jesus. 00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:56.019 You can know the religious words to say, the 00:21:56.019 --> 00:22:04.019 categories, the way to act, and miss Jesus. You 00:22:04.019 --> 00:22:07.980 can defend truth in a way that actually keeps 00:22:07.980 --> 00:22:13.779 you from surrendering to the truth himself. See, 00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:17.099 the scriptures testify about Jesus. That doesn't 00:22:17.099 --> 00:22:19.920 mean that every verse is like this secret code 00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:24.660 where we force Jesus into the text. But it means 00:22:24.660 --> 00:22:29.299 the whole storyline of scripture moves towards 00:22:29.299 --> 00:22:35.920 him. The scriptures testify about Jesus. The 00:22:35.920 --> 00:22:40.799 promises throughout all of God's word point to 00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:44.880 Jesus. The sacrifices in the Old Testament point 00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:48.200 to the ultimate sacrifice that would be made 00:22:48.200 --> 00:22:51.279 through Jesus on the cross. The entire priesthood 00:22:51.279 --> 00:22:53.779 and the structure and the rules and the ritual 00:22:53.779 --> 00:22:57.720 pointed to Jesus. The temple pointed to the work 00:22:57.720 --> 00:23:01.500 that Jesus needed to do. The kingship points 00:23:01.500 --> 00:23:08.339 to him. The law exposes our need for him. The 00:23:08.339 --> 00:23:12.809 prophets anticipated him. See, the scriptures 00:23:12.809 --> 00:23:17.329 testify about Jesus. And yet, Jesus says in verse 00:23:17.329 --> 00:23:22.410 40, but you are not willing to come to me so 00:23:22.410 --> 00:23:29.009 that you may have life. And that's the tragedy. 00:23:29.309 --> 00:23:32.549 See, the problem here, it's not that there's 00:23:32.549 --> 00:23:36.250 a lack of access. For these religious leaders, 00:23:36.369 --> 00:23:40.440 they had scripture. The problem wasn't a lack 00:23:40.440 --> 00:23:44.759 of religious seriousness. They had that too. 00:23:45.119 --> 00:23:48.180 The problem is not that God failed to give enough 00:23:48.180 --> 00:23:51.660 testimony. We have John, the works of the Father, 00:23:51.799 --> 00:23:54.579 the works, the Father, the scriptures, they all 00:23:54.579 --> 00:23:59.559 testified. The problem here is the will. You 00:23:59.559 --> 00:24:04.099 are not willing. See, they searched the entire 00:24:04.099 --> 00:24:07.829 scriptures that testified about Christ. while 00:24:07.829 --> 00:24:12.849 refusing to come to Christ. That's where that 00:24:12.849 --> 00:24:17.109 opening story comes back in, right? They knew 00:24:17.109 --> 00:24:19.069 the roads and the back roads. They knew Moses. 00:24:19.150 --> 00:24:21.569 They knew Sabbath. They knew the scriptures honestly 00:24:21.569 --> 00:24:24.170 better than probably everyone in this room does. 00:24:24.690 --> 00:24:27.829 They knew the categories, but the road that they 00:24:27.829 --> 00:24:32.849 trusted in was closed. Their righteousness, righteousness 00:24:32.849 --> 00:24:40.210 road could not give life. Their religious standing 00:24:40.210 --> 00:24:47.410 could not reconcile them to God. Their Bible 00:24:47.410 --> 00:24:50.549 knowledge could not become a substitute for coming 00:24:50.549 --> 00:24:55.710 to Jesus. And guys, that same danger that these 00:24:55.710 --> 00:24:59.230 religious leaders fell into, it's still real 00:24:59.230 --> 00:25:02.210 for us today. I've wrestled with this myself. 00:25:02.630 --> 00:25:06.769 See, you can use good things wrongly. We can 00:25:06.769 --> 00:25:13.910 use scripture to avoid surrender. You can use 00:25:13.910 --> 00:25:19.210 theology and doctrine to avoid repentance. We 00:25:19.210 --> 00:25:24.829 can use ministry to avoid dependence on him. 00:25:24.950 --> 00:25:28.910 We can use morality to avoid grace. We can use 00:25:28.910 --> 00:25:32.789 Bible knowledge to avoid actually coming and 00:25:32.789 --> 00:25:38.099 surrendering our hearts. to Jesus. So we need 00:25:38.099 --> 00:25:42.400 to ask plainly, where am I looking for life apart 00:25:42.400 --> 00:25:49.299 from Jesus? Am I looking to being right? Am I 00:25:49.299 --> 00:25:52.119 looking to my politics? Am I looking to being 00:25:52.119 --> 00:25:54.839 respected? Am I looking to being independent? 00:25:55.420 --> 00:25:58.460 Am I looking to being needed, being seen as faithful, 00:25:58.579 --> 00:26:01.380 being morally impressive, being the person who 00:26:01.380 --> 00:26:04.160 knows the answer? Because none of those things 00:26:04.160 --> 00:26:08.799 can give life. The scriptures are good. The law 00:26:08.799 --> 00:26:12.700 is good. Doctrine is good. Ministry is good. 00:26:12.900 --> 00:26:18.279 But none of those things are life. Because only 00:26:18.279 --> 00:26:24.500 Jesus is life. The Bible doesn't invite us to 00:26:24.500 --> 00:26:27.700 terminate on Bible knowledge. The Bible brings 00:26:27.700 --> 00:26:31.599 us to Christ. So with this testimony of the scriptures, 00:26:31.700 --> 00:26:35.880 it says, come to Jesus for life. And in verse 00:26:35.880 --> 00:26:39.680 40, Jesus is saying, but you're not willing to 00:26:39.680 --> 00:26:43.460 come to these religious leaders. So we come to 00:26:43.460 --> 00:26:46.279 the third movement here is that then the heart 00:26:46.279 --> 00:26:50.859 must come to Jesus. Because now Jesus presses 00:26:50.859 --> 00:26:54.099 even deeper. He moves from evidence to the heart. 00:26:54.859 --> 00:26:58.400 So when we look at verse 41 and 42 here in John 00:26:58.400 --> 00:27:01.259 chapter 5, we see, I do not accept glory from 00:27:01.259 --> 00:27:05.119 people. but I know you, that you have no love 00:27:05.119 --> 00:27:08.460 for God within you. See, Jesus is saying, look 00:27:08.460 --> 00:27:11.019 guys, I'm not needy. I'm not desperate for the 00:27:11.019 --> 00:27:14.500 approval of man. I'm not waiting for you as religious 00:27:14.500 --> 00:27:18.579 leaders to validate me. I'm not trying to win 00:27:18.579 --> 00:27:21.920 a popularity contest or become the most influential 00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:26.640 rabbi in Israel. Jesus says, I don't need human 00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:29.619 glory, but he knows what's in the hearts of these 00:27:29.619 --> 00:27:31.740 religious leaders. So this is something that 00:27:31.740 --> 00:27:33.640 he's saying directly to the people he's talking 00:27:33.640 --> 00:27:38.539 to. But I think it still kind of hits home, at 00:27:38.539 --> 00:27:40.440 least for myself today. I don't know about you 00:27:40.440 --> 00:27:46.019 guys. He says, you have no love for God within 00:27:46.019 --> 00:27:50.799 you. And that's a devastating thing to hear as 00:27:50.799 --> 00:27:52.640 these religious leaders, as people who say, I 00:27:52.640 --> 00:27:58.200 love God. These men would have, everyone else 00:27:58.200 --> 00:27:59.380 would have looked at them and they said, oh yeah, 00:27:59.460 --> 00:28:02.200 they're lovers of God, clearly. They knew the 00:28:02.200 --> 00:28:03.799 scriptures, they observed the law, they guarded 00:28:03.799 --> 00:28:06.059 tradition, they cared about Sabbath. But Jesus 00:28:06.059 --> 00:28:08.099 says they don't have the love of God within them. 00:28:08.200 --> 00:28:11.940 And then he shows how he knows that. Because 00:28:11.940 --> 00:28:16.640 when we look at verse 43, John 5, 43, he says, 00:28:16.779 --> 00:28:20.940 I have come in my father's name, and yet you 00:28:20.940 --> 00:28:23.339 don't accept me. If someone else comes in his 00:28:23.339 --> 00:28:27.089 own name, you will accept him. See, if they truly 00:28:27.089 --> 00:28:29.369 loved the Father, they would receive the Son 00:28:29.369 --> 00:28:32.789 sent by the Father, but they're rejecting him. 00:28:33.410 --> 00:28:40.289 And then Jesus exposes the glory system that's 00:28:40.289 --> 00:28:44.390 holding up and is underneath their unbelief. 00:28:45.269 --> 00:28:49.029 Verse 44, he says, how can you believe since 00:28:49.029 --> 00:28:52.029 you accept glory from one another, but don't 00:28:52.029 --> 00:28:56.500 seek the glory that comes? from the only God. 00:28:58.059 --> 00:29:02.819 Ouch. Because Jesus is no longer arguing with 00:29:02.819 --> 00:29:06.000 their ideas. He's actually going directly and 00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:11.019 exposing what their hearts love. They accept 00:29:11.019 --> 00:29:14.240 glory from one another. They want religious credibility. 00:29:15.579 --> 00:29:20.240 They want admiration, status. They want God. 00:29:21.259 --> 00:29:26.180 They do. They want to know him better. But they 00:29:26.180 --> 00:29:28.779 also want to be seen as righteous, and they want 00:29:28.779 --> 00:29:33.940 their place protected. And when human approval 00:29:33.940 --> 00:29:38.039 becomes your reward, the glory of God becomes 00:29:38.039 --> 00:29:45.960 inconvenient. That's the piece, right? Jesus 00:29:45.960 --> 00:29:49.180 is talking to these religious leaders. But that's 00:29:49.180 --> 00:29:51.160 the piece that struck my heart this week as I 00:29:51.160 --> 00:29:55.039 prepared. Because how often do I come to a point 00:29:55.039 --> 00:29:59.279 where I'm like, man, I want my own glory. And 00:29:59.279 --> 00:30:03.599 I may not say it that way, but the way that I 00:30:03.599 --> 00:30:06.980 choose to live often does drive right into that. 00:30:08.500 --> 00:30:10.799 And so while Jesus was speaking to these religious 00:30:10.799 --> 00:30:14.519 leaders, man, I got a little Jesus spanking this 00:30:14.519 --> 00:30:18.000 week as I was reading through this. Because when 00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:20.119 human approval becomes your reward, the glory 00:30:20.119 --> 00:30:23.880 of God becomes inconvenient. And Jesus here is 00:30:23.880 --> 00:30:26.700 threatening the religious leader's glory system. 00:30:27.019 --> 00:30:32.200 See, if Jesus is right, they are wrong. If Jesus 00:30:32.200 --> 00:30:36.500 is the son, then their rejection is rebellion 00:30:36.500 --> 00:30:41.859 towards God himself. If Jesus gives life, then 00:30:41.859 --> 00:30:44.660 their own righteousness and fulfillment of the 00:30:44.660 --> 00:30:50.339 law as best as they possibly could cannot. If 00:30:50.339 --> 00:30:52.630 Jesus is the center of scripture, then their 00:30:52.630 --> 00:30:56.809 Bible knowledge has not made them alive. If Jesus 00:30:56.809 --> 00:31:01.769 is the true Messiah, and he is, then their expectations 00:31:01.769 --> 00:31:06.670 have to die. And they don't want that. They would 00:31:06.670 --> 00:31:09.150 rather keep their glory and their version of 00:31:09.150 --> 00:31:13.829 what the Messiah should be than to come to Jesus 00:31:13.829 --> 00:31:18.380 for life. And then Jesus goes and he brings Moses 00:31:18.380 --> 00:31:20.900 into the conversation. See, Moses is the one 00:31:20.900 --> 00:31:24.960 these leaders were such students of. So in verse 00:31:24.960 --> 00:31:29.519 45, Jesus says, do not think that I will accuse 00:31:29.519 --> 00:31:34.700 you to the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on 00:31:34.700 --> 00:31:37.519 whom you have set your hope. That would have 00:31:37.519 --> 00:31:39.259 landed with a little bit of force, kind of like 00:31:39.259 --> 00:31:41.779 a kick in the pants, because they thought Moses 00:31:41.779 --> 00:31:46.579 was on their side. Guys, Moses was their defense 00:31:46.579 --> 00:31:50.619 attorney. Jesus is turning this around and saying, 00:31:50.680 --> 00:31:52.799 guys, Moses is actually going to be your accuser. 00:31:52.799 --> 00:31:54.539 I'm not even the one that's directly accusing 00:31:54.539 --> 00:31:59.299 you here. What you say you follow is the thing 00:31:59.299 --> 00:32:02.779 that is going to bring this accusation before 00:32:02.779 --> 00:32:05.940 the Father. So Jesus says Moses will be their 00:32:05.940 --> 00:32:09.140 accuser, and then Jesus explains the charge. 00:32:09.900 --> 00:32:14.259 So John chapter 5, verses 46 and 47. For if you 00:32:14.259 --> 00:32:17.140 believed Moses, you would believe me because 00:32:17.140 --> 00:32:19.480 he wrote about me. But if you don't believe what 00:32:19.480 --> 00:32:23.099 he wrote, how will you believe my words? See, 00:32:23.180 --> 00:32:29.940 they had set their hope on God, but via obeying 00:32:29.940 --> 00:32:35.480 the law that Moses had relayed. They ended up 00:32:35.480 --> 00:32:39.519 setting their hope a bit on Moses, but Moses 00:32:39.519 --> 00:32:42.279 wasn't ever meant to be a hiding place. for their 00:32:42.279 --> 00:32:47.519 self -righteousness. The law reveals God's holiness 00:32:47.519 --> 00:32:54.460 and our own unholiness. The law exposes human 00:32:54.460 --> 00:32:58.839 sin. The law shows that we need a better mediator, 00:32:58.900 --> 00:33:03.740 a better sacrifice, and a better righteousness. 00:33:03.940 --> 00:33:09.240 Put simply, the law points to our own inability 00:33:10.599 --> 00:33:15.720 to save ourselves and points to our need for 00:33:15.720 --> 00:33:22.480 a savior. And that savior is Jesus. The religious 00:33:22.480 --> 00:33:24.660 leaders had taken what should have exposed their 00:33:24.660 --> 00:33:27.059 need and turned it into a platform for their 00:33:27.059 --> 00:33:29.900 pride. They took Moses and they made him a badge. 00:33:30.019 --> 00:33:32.359 They took the law and they made it a ladder to 00:33:32.359 --> 00:33:35.460 try to fulfill their own righteousness. They 00:33:35.460 --> 00:33:39.000 took scripture and used it as defense for self 00:33:39.000 --> 00:33:42.480 -righteousness. But Moses was never meant to 00:33:42.480 --> 00:33:48.519 terminate on Moses. Moses points forward. All 00:33:48.519 --> 00:33:52.440 the way back in Deuteronomy chapter 18, verse 00:33:52.440 --> 00:33:57.700 15, Moses says this, The Lord your God will raise 00:33:57.700 --> 00:34:00.059 up for you a prophet like me from among your 00:34:00.059 --> 00:34:04.400 own brothers. You must listen to him. And then 00:34:04.400 --> 00:34:08.570 a couple verses later, in Deuteronomy 18, verse 00:34:08.570 --> 00:34:13.150 18 to 19, then the Lord says, I will raise up 00:34:13.150 --> 00:34:15.170 for them a prophet like you from among their 00:34:15.170 --> 00:34:17.829 brothers. I will put my words in his mouth, and 00:34:17.829 --> 00:34:21.650 he will tell them everything I command him. I 00:34:21.650 --> 00:34:25.469 will hold accountable whoever does not listen 00:34:25.469 --> 00:34:30.369 to my words that he speaks in my name. So when 00:34:30.369 --> 00:34:32.469 Jesus says, if you believed Moses, you would 00:34:32.469 --> 00:34:35.050 believe me, because he wrote about me, he's not 00:34:35.050 --> 00:34:39.070 just grabbing some random proof text. Moses is 00:34:39.070 --> 00:34:41.969 himself actually part of the witness. That's 00:34:41.969 --> 00:34:45.469 witness number five now. Moses wrote about the 00:34:45.469 --> 00:34:48.449 one they now refuse to hear. And then the Lord 00:34:48.449 --> 00:34:51.909 speaks about him. The Passover lamb pointed forward. 00:34:52.070 --> 00:34:55.510 The sacrifices pointed forward. The tabernacle 00:34:55.510 --> 00:34:58.489 pointed forward. The priesthood pointed forward. 00:34:58.570 --> 00:35:02.110 The laws exposure of sin pointed forward. Moses 00:35:02.110 --> 00:35:08.119 wrote about Christ Jesus. So to claim Moses while 00:35:08.119 --> 00:35:11.840 rejecting Jesus is actually to entirely misunderstand 00:35:11.840 --> 00:35:15.980 Moses. And this is what he's telling these religious 00:35:15.980 --> 00:35:20.780 leaders. But now the passage becomes deeply personal 00:35:20.780 --> 00:35:24.719 because Jesus is speaking to these religious 00:35:24.719 --> 00:35:29.460 leaders, but the human heart still does this. 00:35:29.599 --> 00:35:34.460 My heart still does this. We want to be seen 00:35:34.460 --> 00:35:38.300 as confident. spiritual, wise, put together, 00:35:38.440 --> 00:35:42.019 the good parent, the faithful spouse, the dependable 00:35:42.019 --> 00:35:45.000 friend, the strong leader, the serious Christian, 00:35:45.119 --> 00:35:49.639 you name what it is for you. But when the approval 00:35:49.639 --> 00:35:53.820 of people becomes our functional reward, we resist 00:35:53.820 --> 00:35:57.760 anything that begins to threaten that image. 00:35:59.099 --> 00:36:05.219 We resist confession because Confession hurts 00:36:05.219 --> 00:36:09.980 the image. We resist repentance because repentance 00:36:09.980 --> 00:36:14.280 admits need and that I can't do it myself. We 00:36:14.280 --> 00:36:17.239 resist correction because correction feels like 00:36:17.239 --> 00:36:23.059 humiliation. We resist grace because grace means 00:36:23.059 --> 00:36:28.260 that I didn't earn it. And if we're honest, sometimes 00:36:28.260 --> 00:36:32.889 we resist Jesus because Jesus doesn't come. to 00:36:32.889 --> 00:36:37.210 admire our righteousness. He comes to replace 00:36:37.210 --> 00:36:42.250 it with his own. Jesus doesn't say, bring me 00:36:42.250 --> 00:36:46.090 your impressive record and I will polish it and 00:36:46.090 --> 00:36:49.869 make sure everyone else gets to see. He says, 00:36:50.010 --> 00:36:55.989 come to me so that you may have life. Come needy. 00:36:57.949 --> 00:37:04.489 Come exposed. Come thirsty. Come guilty. Come 00:37:04.489 --> 00:37:08.210 done with pretending. Come with empty hands. 00:37:09.190 --> 00:37:14.110 This is the invitation of Jesus. See, there's 00:37:14.110 --> 00:37:17.030 a lot of scripture. I spent some time this week 00:37:17.030 --> 00:37:18.829 looking at all the scripture where Jesus says, 00:37:18.929 --> 00:37:23.610 come to me. But I just want to focus on two because 00:37:23.610 --> 00:37:28.090 these encapsulate the invitation of Jesus. Matthew 00:37:28.090 --> 00:37:31.940 chapter 11 and verse 28. It says, come to me, 00:37:32.000 --> 00:37:35.260 all of you who are weary and burdened, and I 00:37:35.260 --> 00:37:37.860 will give you rest. And then in John chapter 00:37:37.860 --> 00:37:40.559 6, verse 37, he says, everyone the Father gives 00:37:40.559 --> 00:37:42.639 will come to me, and the one who comes to me 00:37:42.639 --> 00:37:47.699 I will never cast out. Guys, that's not an invitation 00:37:47.699 --> 00:37:52.309 to your reputation. That's not an invitation 00:37:52.309 --> 00:37:55.170 to your Bible knowledge, to your church attendance, 00:37:55.510 --> 00:37:58.550 to your ministry involvement, to your role, to 00:37:58.550 --> 00:38:01.030 your moral record. This is an invitation to Jesus 00:38:01.030 --> 00:38:07.769 himself. Come to Jesus for life. And as we look 00:38:07.769 --> 00:38:10.550 to Jesus, we're not looking at an idea, a symbol, 00:38:10.690 --> 00:38:13.510 a distant teacher, or this general religious 00:38:13.510 --> 00:38:18.210 concept. We are looking to the Son of God who 00:38:18.210 --> 00:38:22.940 gives life. And the one we look to is the one 00:38:22.940 --> 00:38:29.400 who says, come. So here's the question that we 00:38:29.400 --> 00:38:31.960 have to ask, that Jesus presses to the religious 00:38:31.960 --> 00:38:34.960 leaders, but it's the same question even now 00:38:34.960 --> 00:38:40.059 for us today. Have you come to Christ? Have you 00:38:40.059 --> 00:38:43.539 stopped looking to your own righteousness? Have 00:38:43.539 --> 00:38:45.619 you stopped trying to make Jesus fit your expectations? 00:38:47.849 --> 00:38:51.489 Have you stopped using religion to protect yourself 00:38:51.489 --> 00:38:56.050 from surrender? Have you come to Jesus for life? 00:38:57.230 --> 00:39:02.090 See, John 5, 30 through 47, this is often taught 00:39:02.090 --> 00:39:06.429 as a courtroom scene. And I believe that's faithful 00:39:06.429 --> 00:39:09.630 to the text. But Jesus is not merely just trying 00:39:09.630 --> 00:39:13.469 to win an argument. This is not a, case closed, 00:39:13.590 --> 00:39:16.550 you rejected me, that's it. The sentence is coming 00:39:16.550 --> 00:39:20.579 and it's hell. See, the witnesses all testify. 00:39:20.780 --> 00:39:23.920 John points to Jesus. The works point to Jesus. 00:39:24.159 --> 00:39:27.840 The Father points to Jesus. Scripture points 00:39:27.840 --> 00:39:32.659 to Jesus. Moses points to Jesus. And every single 00:39:32.659 --> 00:39:34.760 one of those witnesses is saying the same thing. 00:39:36.539 --> 00:39:39.880 Life is not found in the witness. Life is found 00:39:39.880 --> 00:39:45.420 in the one they are the witness to. John chapter 00:39:45.420 --> 00:39:49.179 5, verse 40. Jesus says to the religious leaders, 00:39:49.280 --> 00:39:51.659 but you are not willing to come to me so that 00:39:51.659 --> 00:39:56.679 you may have life. So this invitation is for 00:39:56.679 --> 00:39:59.420 everyone. It's just the same as it was for the 00:39:59.420 --> 00:40:01.400 religious leaders Jesus was speaking to then. 00:40:02.719 --> 00:40:07.139 Come to him. If you don't know Christ, come to 00:40:07.139 --> 00:40:10.440 Jesus for life. Not after you clean yourself 00:40:10.440 --> 00:40:14.519 up. Not after you understand everything. Not 00:40:14.519 --> 00:40:17.900 after you become religious enough. Not after 00:40:17.900 --> 00:40:22.159 you prove you're serious. Come to him now. Come 00:40:22.159 --> 00:40:25.719 guilty. Come needy. Come exposed and empty -handed. 00:40:25.960 --> 00:40:28.940 See, Jesus, he doesn't need people who have life 00:40:28.940 --> 00:40:32.420 figured out. He invites sinners who need life 00:40:32.420 --> 00:40:40.159 from him. He says, come to me. all of you who 00:40:40.159 --> 00:40:43.579 are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 00:40:45.119 --> 00:40:48.139 And he promises, everyone the Father gives me 00:40:48.139 --> 00:40:50.840 will come to me, and the one who comes I will 00:40:50.840 --> 00:40:58.219 never cast out. So let's stop looking to our 00:40:58.219 --> 00:41:02.500 own goodness. Let's stop looking to our own record. 00:41:03.639 --> 00:41:09.239 Stop looking to your own excuses. You can't make 00:41:09.239 --> 00:41:13.840 yourself right with God. Come to Jesus because 00:41:13.840 --> 00:41:18.239 he is the son sent by the father. He is the lamb 00:41:18.239 --> 00:41:22.059 of God who takes away the sins of the world. 00:41:22.099 --> 00:41:24.059 He's the one Moses wrote about. He's the one 00:41:24.059 --> 00:41:26.659 scriptures testify about. He's the one who died 00:41:26.659 --> 00:41:29.320 and rose again so sinners could have life in 00:41:29.320 --> 00:41:34.380 his name. Come to Jesus for life. And if you 00:41:34.380 --> 00:41:39.469 do know Christ, If you say, Jesus is my Lord 00:41:39.469 --> 00:41:44.230 and Savior, I have come to Jesus. Coming to Jesus 00:41:44.230 --> 00:41:46.989 is not only the beginning of salvation, it's 00:41:46.989 --> 00:41:53.010 also the shape of discipleship. We come to him 00:41:53.010 --> 00:41:55.389 with the places that we're pretending, and we 00:41:55.389 --> 00:41:59.349 continue to submit those before him. We keep 00:41:59.349 --> 00:42:03.610 coming to Jesus. The places where we're striving. 00:42:03.849 --> 00:42:07.949 The places where we're defending ourselves. The 00:42:07.949 --> 00:42:10.110 places where we're trying to earn what Christ 00:42:10.110 --> 00:42:15.309 has already given. The places where we're seeking 00:42:15.309 --> 00:42:19.269 the approval of people more than we are seeking 00:42:19.269 --> 00:42:24.429 the glory of God. Becoming Christ -like is not 00:42:24.429 --> 00:42:27.530 moving past Jesus because we made a one -time 00:42:27.530 --> 00:42:30.130 decision to come to him. It is learning to keep 00:42:30.130 --> 00:42:32.789 on coming to him. It's learning to bring more 00:42:32.789 --> 00:42:35.389 of ourselves to Jesus, to bring our sin, our 00:42:35.389 --> 00:42:39.110 shame, our ambition. our weakness, our ministry, 00:42:39.230 --> 00:42:42.010 our relationships, our marriage, our parenting, 00:42:42.190 --> 00:42:45.889 our work, our fears, our anxiety, our need for 00:42:45.889 --> 00:42:49.050 approval. Guys, there's so much more that we 00:42:49.050 --> 00:42:52.190 need to surrender at the feet of Jesus. And when 00:42:52.190 --> 00:42:55.489 we look to Jesus and come to him with all of 00:42:55.489 --> 00:42:58.650 it, Jesus doesn't merely show us the way to life. 00:42:58.690 --> 00:43:04.710 He says, I am life. So look to Jesus and come 00:43:04.710 --> 00:43:15.519 to Jesus. for life. Let's pray. God, you are 00:43:15.519 --> 00:43:20.420 so good. You have given us your Son, Jesus Christ, 00:43:20.559 --> 00:43:25.300 who came as the perfect sacrifice, the fulfillment 00:43:25.300 --> 00:43:29.280 of the law, to do a work that we could not do, 00:43:29.340 --> 00:43:31.900 to live a life that we could not live free of 00:43:31.900 --> 00:43:37.369 sin. to be beaten, to be nailed to the cross, 00:43:37.610 --> 00:43:42.869 to bear the sins of the world, to have died, 00:43:43.070 --> 00:43:46.010 to have been buried, and to have risen again. 00:43:47.269 --> 00:43:51.690 Thank you for the shed blood of Jesus. Thank 00:43:51.690 --> 00:43:57.130 you for the call to come to you for life. Lord, 00:43:57.210 --> 00:44:02.820 I pray that we would be willing. We would be 00:44:02.820 --> 00:44:07.519 willing to look to Jesus to come to him for life. 00:44:10.659 --> 00:44:15.139 You are good. We thank you so much for that free 00:44:15.139 --> 00:44:17.320 and wonderful gift. We pray this all in Jesus' 00:44:17.460 --> 00:44:19.019 name. Amen.