The Unmistakable Christ: Examining the Divine Witnesses in John 5

[00:00:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:00:06] I'll invite you to open your Bible to our main scripture for today. It's John 5. John chapter 5.
[00:00:13] While we're turning there, we have a quote for today. It's from Pastor Tom Askell.
[00:00:17] He's one of my favorite writers and preachers I've come across in the last few years.
[00:00:21] His writing has really affected me.
[00:00:24] And so I'm loving the material that he's putting out that's so Christ-honoring, the way that he speaks and preaches about the gospel.
[00:00:33] He says, the testimony of John the Baptist, the miracles, the Father's voice, all these converge on one truth, that Jesus is the Christ.
[00:00:43] To deny him is to deny the evidence that God has provided.
[00:00:48] He's talking about what we're going to see in our scripture today.
[00:00:50] And of the things that Jesus says testify about who he is.
[00:00:56] These things that testify about Jesus' identity are what we call divine witnesses.
[00:01:01] because our creator is the one that gives them to us.
[00:01:04] It's not something we're figuring out on our own.
[00:01:06] It's something that God gives to you.
[00:01:08] He puts right in front of you and says, this is the proof I want you to look to for who Jesus is.
[00:01:13] This testifies about his identity.
[00:01:17] Our creator gives us these things so that we might know and in knowing we might believe.
[00:01:23] So that when we are confronted with the truth of who Jesus Christ is, we will recognize Him and we will respond to the good news of Jesus Christ with faith.
[00:01:33] Our Creator gives us grace.
[00:01:35] And in that, we are given eyes that see the truth and the ability to respond to the truth with faith, with the trust that we have in Him.
[00:01:45] Everything that Jesus points to in our Scripture today, all of it confirms His identity.
[00:01:50] These things are all pointing at the same irrefutable truth that Jesus is the Son of God, that he is the Messiah, and it is in him alone that we can be saved.
[00:02:02] There's no one that you're going to run into in your life that denies Jesus because there's a lack of proof.
[00:02:08] The truth and the proof that we have for who he is is abundant.
[00:02:14] There's so many things that we can point to and say, you see this?
[00:02:17] This is why we believe what we do.
[00:02:20] We can prove our faith.
[00:02:21] We can hold it up and examine it in the light.
[00:02:24] Other religions don't have that.
[00:02:26] You hold Mormonism or Islam or Hinduism or Buddhism, whatever it is that you want to point to, you hold those things up to the light, and they fall apart.
[00:02:34] They turn to dust.
[00:02:36] But you hold up the gospel to the light, and it holds up.
[00:02:40] It gets stronger the deeper you look into it.
[00:02:43] People are not going to deny Christ because of some lack of proof.
[00:02:47] The reason that they deny him is not because they need more proof.
[00:02:52] They deny him because they willingly reject the truth.
[00:02:56] They don't want it to be true.
[00:02:57] We're going to see that in our scripture today.
[00:02:59] Jesus lays it all out for these people.
[00:03:01] And he points to the scripture and he says, this testifies about me.
[00:03:04] And they don't want it to be true.
[00:03:06] So they're unwilling to say yes to it.
[00:03:08] And they deny it.
[00:03:09] Let's all stand as we read the word of God.
[00:03:12] Our main scripture for today is John chapter 5, verses 30 to 47.
[00:03:17] John 5, beginning in verse 30.
[00:03:21] I can do nothing on my own initiative.
[00:03:24] As I hear, I judge.
[00:03:25] And my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
[00:03:32] If I alone testify about myself, my testimony is not true.
[00:03:36] There is another who testifies of me, and I know that the testimony which he gives about me is true.
[00:03:43] You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth.
[00:03:47] But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.
[00:03:54] He was a lamp that was burning and was shining.
[00:03:57] And you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.
[00:04:00] But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John.
[00:04:05] For the works which the Father has given me to accomplish.
[00:04:08] The very works that I do testify about me that the Father has sent me.
[00:04:13] And the Father who sent me, he has testified of me.
[00:04:17] You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form.
[00:04:22] You do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe him whom he sent.
[00:04:28] You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life.
[00:04:31] It is these that testify about me, and you are unwilling to come to me so that you may have life.
[00:04:38] I do not receive glory from men, but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves.
[00:04:44] I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me.
[00:04:48] If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.
[00:04:51] How can you believe when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?
[00:05:00] Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father.
[00:05:03] The one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope.
[00:05:07] For if you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.
[00:05:11] But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?
[00:05:16] Let's pray.
[00:05:17] Our Father in heaven, Lord God, we praise you.
[00:05:21] Lord, we thank you for these Bibles that you put in our hands.
[00:05:23] We pray that you would open up the Scripture to us today, that you would give us an understanding of the words of Christ, that you would grow us in our faith, that you would make us bold in how we respond to it
[00:05:32] and share it with the people that you put in front of us.
[00:05:35] Father, please correct us if we misunderstand any of this.
[00:05:38] Please grow us into the people you want us to be.
[00:05:40] Make us usable servants that you will send out into the harvest of this world to share the good news of Christ with the people that you put in front of us.
[00:05:47] Please help us to be the people you've created us to be.
[00:05:49] Please guide us as we seek to worship you.
[00:05:52] Father, we thank you for this privilege.
[00:05:53] We praise you.
[00:05:54] We love you.
[00:05:55] In Jesus' name, amen.
[00:05:57] You may be seated.
[00:05:59] In our scripture here, Jesus is telling this group of people who are very hostile towards him.
[00:06:06] He's telling them who he is and they do not want to hear it.
[00:06:09] Earlier in this chapter, right before this, in the same conversation, the Bible says that these Jews that he's talking to, they wanted to kill him for the things that he has done and said.
[00:06:20] He dared to heal a man on the Sabbath, and that really offended their legalism.
[00:06:24] And he called God his father.
[00:06:27] You and I and every other sinner that has ever been saved by the grace of God, we all have this privilege of being God's children.
[00:06:36] We've been adopted by our Father in heaven and made heirs to his kingdom through Christ.
[00:06:42] But Jesus is the only begotten Son of God.
[00:06:45] That means that he's not adopted into the family of God like you and I have been.
[00:06:49] It means he is God.
[00:06:52] He is the true son of God.
[00:06:54] He is part of the Godhead.
[00:06:55] He's the creator and sustainer of all things.
[00:06:59] And when he tells these people in John 5 that God is his father, they know exactly what that means.
[00:07:06] And they want to kill him for it because it's offended them.
[00:07:09] Remember, the sheep are humbled by the truth, but the goats are offended.
[00:07:14] They consider what Jesus says a heresy.
[00:07:18] And our scripture today follows that part of the conversation that we're reading earlier in this chapter.
[00:07:23] And in it, we don't see Jesus softening the truth so that he's not offending these people that he's talking to.
[00:07:31] That's what so many people do in our modern culture and in these times that we live in.
[00:07:35] Even in the churches where people come together to worship Christ, they will soften it because they're worried they're going to push people away.
[00:07:42] I have a friend that says, don't share the gospel with people the first time you talk to them.
[00:07:46] You have to go soft.
[00:07:47] You have to go really gentle, and maybe in the fourth or fifth conversation, you can actually share the gospel with them, because if you tell them too soon, you'll push them away.
[00:07:55] That's garbage.
[00:07:56] That is terrible advice for someone.
[00:07:59] You should tell them, because you don't know if they get tomorrow.
[00:08:01] You don't know if they get another five minutes.
[00:08:03] They might leave here and get hit by a car.
[00:08:05] When you talk to somebody, this is your chance right now.
[00:08:09] Now is the time to share Christ with the people that God puts in front of you.
[00:08:13] If you love someone, you're not going to keep it to yourself and try not to offend them.
[00:08:17] You're going to be willing for them to hate you or be offended by the words that you say so that you can share the good news of the gospel with that person.
[00:08:26] In our scripture today, Jesus is showing us the model that we're supposed to follow and how we share our faith, how we speak of the truth to people that are easily offended or have different ideas.
[00:08:38] if he puts up a Mormon friend or a Muslim friend or somebody from some other religion in front of you and they're willing to have that conversation, even if they're not willing, we'll shoo them into that conversation.
[00:08:49] If he puts someone in front of you, that is your opportunity to speak the truth to that person.
[00:08:54] Don't worry about softening.
[00:08:55] Don't candy coat it.
[00:08:56] Don't worry that you're going to offend them with the truth.
[00:09:00] Point to the cross and speak the truth when you talk to those people, just like Jesus does when he's talking to them about who he is, and they don't want to hear it.
[00:09:08] So many people in our times are willing to candy-coat the truth.
[00:09:12] They try to make it palatable for those goats that are offended by the truth.
[00:09:16] But Jesus does not do that.
[00:09:18] And as his disciples that follow our master, we're supposed to follow his lead.
[00:09:22] We're supposed to do what he's doing.
[00:09:24] He boldly proclaims the truth, who he is, by pointing at these proofs that we're reading about in the Scripture today, those things that testify about who he is.
[00:09:35] The people he's speaking to, they're very hostile, not just to Jesus, but to anyone who dares to go against what they say is wrong.
[00:09:44] The Bible says that these people wanted to kill Jesus, and he knows that they mean him harm while he's speaking to them.
[00:09:50] He knows our hearts. They're not hiding anything from him, but he takes his time.
[00:09:54] Even though they want to hurt them, they want to kill them.
[00:09:56] He takes his time to explain these things in our scripture today to these people, even though he knows that they're unwilling to receive what it is that he's freely offering them in the gospel.
[00:10:08] He gives them some really good reasons for why they should believe him.
[00:10:13] He gives them the testimony of John the Baptist.
[00:10:15] He's the one that God sent to prepare the way.
[00:10:17] And in doing that, he fulfills a prophecy that we read about in the Old Testament.
[00:10:21] He points to the miracles that he is performing that prove that he was sent by God.
[00:10:27] He points to the words of Scripture, the words that God has given us.
[00:10:32] And every word of the Bible points to Jesus.
[00:10:36] And Jesus is like, this is the word of God.
[00:10:39] God said it.
[00:10:40] Here it is.
[00:10:40] He points to me.
[00:10:41] He testifies about who I am, that I'm his son.
[00:10:44] And these people, even though they know what the Bible says, they're unwilling to hear what he says.
[00:10:48] there's so much more proof than what we read about in this chapter today besides these obvious things that we're reading here there's a lot of proof for who jesus is but just the things that jesus says
[00:11:01] to these men in our scripture here are proof enough if you had just these things that's enough for when someone has grace at work in them you confront them with these testimonies with this proof and god gives the increase it's god who gives them the ability to understand what his
[00:11:19] word says and to respond with faith no amount of evidence will ever convince an unbeliever to acknowledge the truth that they don't want it when i was when i was going through school for apologetics and i was learning how do i defend my faith how do i convince someone of the truth
[00:11:35] of the bible the thing that struck me is they were trying to teach us how to trick people and to understand how to work around their worldviews, but it's not us that can convince anyone.
[00:11:45] We're not capable of that.
[00:11:46] As Christians, we get to tell people the truth.
[00:11:50] We get to point them at the cross.
[00:11:52] We get to plant those seeds.
[00:11:53] We get to water those seeds and encourage people, but it's our creator that gives the increase.
[00:11:58] God is the one who does all the work.
[00:12:01] Oftentimes, we feel a burden to convince people of the truth of the gospel, but that's not our role.
[00:12:07] It's our role to plant and to water and to point to Christ.
[00:12:11] Romans 8 says that men suppress the truth and unrighteousness.
[00:12:17] The Bible says that which is known about God is evident to all people because God makes it evident to us.
[00:12:25] No amount of proof is ever going to be enough to convince someone that doesn't want to believe something.
[00:12:31] It's an act of God that softens our hearts.
[00:12:34] It's an act of God that saves us.
[00:12:35] It's an act of God that gives us an understanding.
[00:12:38] The Holy Spirit is called the spirit of understanding in God's word for a reason.
[00:12:42] It's him who gives us the ability to understand what we're reading and to act on these things.
[00:12:47] For us as Christians, our role is to testify to the people that he puts in front of us about him with the life that we're living and the things that we say.
[00:12:57] We tell the people that we love why we believe the things that we do, but it's God that gives that increase.
[00:13:03] and because his grace has been at work in each of us we are humbled by the truth when we hear the only reason that you believe is because god has given you the ability to believe you're not
[00:13:13] it's not because you're so smart or wonderful or better than anybody else it's because grace has been at work in you and given you the ability to recognize the truth when you heard it your faith is fruit of the spirit it's not something that you said you know what today
[00:13:28] i decide that i'm going to choose god many people will tell you that but that's not what the bible says the bible says that you choose god because he has given you the ability to do that we love him
[00:13:39] because he first loved us that's the truth that so many people just blaze right over but because god has given you grace you have faith that's fruit of the spirit that dwells in you these men
[00:13:51] in our scripture today that want to kill Jesus. They have hard hearts, just like we once had.
[00:13:58] And the proof that Jesus gives them that testifies about his identity, it just falls on deaf ears as he speaks to them because they don't want to believe what he's saying. That's what it looks
[00:14:08] like to be blind until our creator gives us eyes to see. That's what it looks like to be deaf until he gives us ears that can hear the truth the people that he's speaking to are selfish and
[00:14:22] sinful we all are by default we are born in sin it's not so grace changes us that we become the people that god wants us to be until god grabs a hold of us every one of us will deny the truth
[00:14:34] because it's grace that saves us not ourselves every good thing that has ever been given to you Everything that's ever happened to you has been a gift that God has given you, especially your salvation.
[00:14:46] In verse 30 of John 5, Jesus says, I can do nothing of my own initiative.
[00:14:52] As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
[00:15:01] Jesus is kind of reiterating what he said earlier in this chapter, that he is in perfect unity with God our Father.
[00:15:08] this verse connects what he had said right before this in this chapter with the evidence that he's given to these people in the in the verses that come after this and he is boldly proclaiming the
[00:15:18] truth to these people who do not want to hear it he's telling them that his ministry the things that he does and the things that he says aren't his own will that they're the will of god it's
[00:15:29] not like a person came in and tried to just like you know what this is what it should be Or this is what my tradition says it should be.
[00:15:36] He's saying God himself wills for this to happen.
[00:15:40] And he has sent his only begotten son to facilitate these things so that we might be saved.
[00:15:46] There's no higher authority than God.
[00:15:48] And the men that he's speaking to, they fully understand what he is claiming as he speaks to them here.
[00:15:55] Later in the Gospel according to John, we're going to see Jesus elaborate on what he's saying here about the will of God.
[00:16:01] But in this specific conversation, he's framing it in a way that these men that he's speaking to are going to be able to understand what he's saying.
[00:16:10] So they won't have any excuse to say, well, I don't understand.
[00:16:13] They know exactly what he's saying because he's framing it in a way that they talk about things, in a way that they understand things in the context of God's word.
[00:16:21] According to the law, that these men know very well, people cannot testify about themselves.
[00:16:27] You had to have two or three reliable witnesses to testify about whatever it is that was in dispute.
[00:16:35] And the things that Jesus is pointing to here that testify about him are about as reliable as anything can possibly be.
[00:16:43] He's not telling these people that they have to have blind faith.
[00:16:46] He's not just saying, just take my word for it.
[00:16:48] Just trust me.
[00:16:49] That's not what he's saying.
[00:16:50] His word is reliable because he is the son of God.
[00:16:53] But that's not the way that he's approaching this conversation.
[00:16:56] He knows that to talk to these religious leaders in Judea, he has to have evidence to prove what he is saying here in John chapter 5.
[00:17:05] And the evidence that he has given to them, it's undeniable.
[00:17:10] In verses 31 and 32, Jesus says, If I alone testify about myself, my testimony is not true.
[00:17:17] There is another who testifies of me, and I know that the testimony which he gives about me is true.
[00:17:24] Jesus is confronting the validity of what he is revealing about his identity here.
[00:17:30] They want him to validate it.
[00:17:31] So he's confirming that right now.
[00:17:33] And he's pointing to God our Father to say, there's my testimony.
[00:17:38] There is the truth.
[00:17:39] There's no higher authority that I can point to than God our Father.
[00:17:43] He says, if I alone testify about myself, my testimony is not true.
[00:17:49] And that points to this much bigger spiritual truth about the unity of the family of God and the nature of our Creator.
[00:17:58] God is a triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
[00:18:02] These men don't understand that yet.
[00:18:04] Even though it's plain as you go back and read the Old Testament, it's there.
[00:18:07] It's very clear for us because the Holy Spirit guides us as we read Scripture, and Christ has revealed the truth to us.
[00:18:13] But these religious leaders in Jerusalem, they don't understand that yet.
[00:18:17] But he's pointing to that big truth of who God is and how God is.
[00:18:22] And he's also framing what he's saying here in a way that these men are going to be able to understand it.
[00:18:29] The issue is, no matter how he says these things, no matter how he tries to make it palatable or help them to understand what it is in the context of the way that they live out their faith in themselves as opposed to their faith in God, they don't want what he's saying here to be true.
[00:18:45] He's acknowledging that if he testifies about himself alone, that his testimony is not going to be considered valid by those in Judea, according to the law.
[00:18:56] Deuteronomy 19 says, on the evidence of two or three witnesses, a matter shall be confirmed.
[00:19:02] According to the law, a person's self-testimony lacks the credibility that they need to have.
[00:19:07] You have to have somebody to corroborate what you're saying. You need two or three witnesses.
[00:19:11] So Jesus points to the one that has more credibility than all of creation combined.
[00:19:19] He points to God.
[00:19:21] And he says there is another who testifies on his behalf, and he knows that his testimony is true.
[00:19:28] Our Father in heaven is the ultimate witness.
[00:19:31] He's omniscient.
[00:19:32] He knows everything, and everything that God says is true.
[00:19:36] There's no lies in him.
[00:19:38] If God says it, it is true.
[00:19:40] Jesus revealing himself as the Messiah is not a claim that these religious leaders are going to be able to dispute it with Scripture because his identity is supported by the divine testimony of God.
[00:19:53] It's completely testified to, 100%.
[00:19:57] There's no way to dispute it.
[00:19:59] God's word has said this is what the Messiah is going to be like.
[00:20:03] This is what he's going to do.
[00:20:04] It all points to Jesus.
[00:20:06] So the credibility of what Jesus is saying here is indisputable.
[00:20:10] But even in that, these men that he's talking to are refusing to acknowledge him as the son of God.
[00:20:17] Here's your proof.
[00:20:18] And they're like, I don't want to see it.
[00:20:19] I don't want it to be true.
[00:20:21] They want to turn from it, even though the Messiah, the creator of all things, is right in front of them.
[00:20:28] In verses 33 to 35, Jesus says, You have said to John, and he has testified to the truth.
[00:20:36] But the testimony which I receive is not from man.
[00:20:39] But I say these things so that you may be saved.
[00:20:44] He was the lamp that was burning and was shining.
[00:20:47] And you were willing to rejoice for a while in his life.
[00:20:51] Jesus is pointing to John the Baptist as this divine testimony that God has given to the world about him.
[00:20:59] John was a prophet.
[00:21:00] He was sent by God.
[00:21:02] And he fulfills the prophecy of the one that was sent by God to prepare the way for the Messiah.
[00:21:07] His role as a prophet was a very special one.
[00:21:10] He was sent to be a sign that God gives to help people like us to know Christ when he came.
[00:21:18] John was a man that God gives to the world specifically to testify about Christ.
[00:21:24] In John 1, the religious leaders in Judea had sent their messengers to John the Baptist.
[00:21:29] And John told these men, he testified to these men that Jesus is the Messiah.
[00:21:36] When John saw Jesus, he testifies, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
[00:21:42] This is he on behalf of whom I said, after me comes a man who has higher rank than I, for he existed before me.
[00:21:50] I did not recognize him, but so that he might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.
[00:21:57] John testified, saying, I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him.
[00:22:04] I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, He is upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him.
[00:22:14] This is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.
[00:22:18] I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.
[00:22:24] That's a mighty testimony, isn't it?
[00:22:25] That's the prophet that God sent.
[00:22:27] And he points to Jesus and he says, this is the son of God.
[00:22:30] This is the one that I have come to prepare the way for.
[00:22:34] Jesus tells these people that he's talking to that he doesn't rely on human testimony to prove who he is.
[00:22:40] He doesn't need to point to people.
[00:22:43] But he points to John's testimony for the benefit of the people that he's talking to.
[00:22:48] And John was a prophet.
[00:22:51] Prophets are men that God speaks to and he speaks through.
[00:22:55] So John's testimony, he carries a different kind of weight.
[00:22:58] If it was a priest or a layman in the streets, if some other man had been witness to Jesus, it would be a proper testimony.
[00:23:06] But John, as a prophet that God sent with this specific goal, this specific role, his testimony is special.
[00:23:14] And God sent him for this very purpose, to testify about Christ.
[00:23:19] And he speaks through John when he proclaims that Jesus is the son of God.
[00:23:25] Jesus describes John as a burning and shining lamp.
[00:23:28] He describes us as his disciples, as the light of the world.
[00:23:32] But it's his light that shines through us.
[00:23:36] So when you're a light that God is using to illuminate a place to point to Christ, it's not you, it's him that is working through you.
[00:23:42] And John, much like you, was meant to illuminate the truth about Jesus to the people that God put in front of him.
[00:23:49] He was this powerful witness that God gave to his creation with the intent of pointing to Jesus as the Messiah.
[00:23:57] That was his role.
[00:23:58] John was a lamp, but Jesus is the light that shined through them.
[00:24:03] And he fulfilled his role as a testimony for Christ perfectly.
[00:24:08] In verses 36 to 38, Jesus says, But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John.
[00:24:16] for the works which the father has given me to accomplish the very works that i do testify about me that the father has sent me and the father who sent me he has testified of me you have neither
[00:24:29] heard his voice at any time nor seen his form you do not have his word abiding in you for you do not believe him whom he sent that is a rebuke isn't it that is a powerful testimony you don't know god
[00:24:45] because you don't recognize Christ.
[00:24:47] You don't worship God because you don't worship the Christ.
[00:24:50] Jesus is calling them out for the shenanigans here.
[00:24:53] And what he says is evidence for who he is.
[00:24:57] And he uses what he's saying to rebuke these hostile people that he's talking to here.
[00:25:01] He says that his works, these miraculous signs and wonders that he does are a greater testimony than even John the Baptist's testimony.
[00:25:10] Those things that Jesus does are given by God our Father to confirm that he was sent by God.
[00:25:16] They prove who he is.
[00:25:18] Jesus says that the Father testifies on his behalf.
[00:25:23] And he does those things.
[00:25:25] He testifies about Jesus through the works that Jesus does, but also through his word.
[00:25:31] When Scripture speaks, it's God speaking.
[00:25:34] It's not the men that God worked through to write it.
[00:25:36] It's God himself that is speaking to us through his word.
[00:25:40] And all of the Scripture, all of it is God-breathed.
[00:25:43] And every single bit of it testifies about Christ.
[00:25:48] And because these men are refusing to acknowledge Jesus, they're refusing to acknowledge the obvious truth about the Messiah that has been revealed in the word of God.
[00:25:59] Jesus rebukes them by telling them they do not have God's word dwelling in them.
[00:26:05] These people are obsessed with scripture.
[00:26:07] Imagine somebody who memorizes their Bible.
[00:26:10] They're memorizing the word of God and they have no idea what it says.
[00:26:12] they're obsessed with the scripture so what jesus says here it cuts right to the heart of the issue they know what the word of god says they can tell you what it says verbatim but they don't know what
[00:26:26] it means because they think it's about them if we read this bible we're thinking it's about us then we're as bad as they are we have missed the plot this bible every single bit of it is about
[00:26:36] christ it's about a creator in first corinthians 2 the bible says a natural man does not accept the things of the spirit of god for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them they cannot understand the things of god because they are spiritually appraised it's not
[00:26:56] about how smart we are it's about the grace of god at work in us it's about the holy spirit giving us understanding about what god's word says these men that jesus is talking to they don't understand
[00:27:07] the scripture. They don't understand how it testifies about Jesus because they are fools that do not walk with God. They're self-righteous as opposed to living their lives for the glory of God. They say that they believe in God. They say that they walk with him. They say that they belong
[00:27:23] to him and they're his chosen people, but their lives are lived for their own glory. They're not lived for God's glory. They don't belong to him. Jesus calls them the children of the devil.
[00:27:33] That's all hard truth.
[00:27:35] But that's what Jesus says in his word.
[00:27:37] These people that he's rebuking here do not believe in God.
[00:27:42] They believe in themselves and their religion.
[00:27:45] And his word does not abide in them.
[00:27:48] And we can see that.
[00:27:49] We can prove that because they do not believe in the one that God sent.
[00:27:54] Jesus lays it all out clearly for us here.
[00:27:57] Their unbelief reveals to us that they are disconnected from God.
[00:28:02] It shows us who they really are.
[00:28:04] In verses 39 and 40, Jesus says, you search the scripture because you think in them you have eternal life.
[00:28:12] It is these that testify about me and you are unwilling to come to me so that you may have life.
[00:28:19] This sums up the problem with those religious leaders in Judea.
[00:28:23] They were unwilling.
[00:28:23] It's not just the problem with them.
[00:28:25] It's the problem with every unbelieving heart in this world that has ever lived.
[00:28:29] Every person that has turned away from God has been unwilling to look to him.
[00:28:34] It's only grace that gives us the ability to turn, to repent from this world and put our eyes on our creator.
[00:28:40] These people search the scriptures for a way that they can earn salvation.
[00:28:44] They're looking for some kind of formula, some kind of thing that they can do.
[00:28:48] They really thought so highly of themselves that they believed that they could do things that made them deserving of salvation.
[00:28:56] They thought, you know what, I'm going to earn eternal life.
[00:28:58] That's not what God's word tells us.
[00:29:01] When the Messiah came and they saw him with their own eyes, he spoke of grace.
[00:29:06] These people hated that because grace is a gift that God gives to unworthy people like us.
[00:29:13] And they thought that they were special.
[00:29:15] They thought that they deserved to be saved because of their genealogy.
[00:29:19] They thought that they were so good because they were so religious.
[00:29:22] And even though the scripture clearly points to Jesus as the only way in salvation, There's no secondary way to be saved.
[00:29:30] These people were unwilling to acknowledge what the word of God actually said because they had twisted it generation after generation for hundreds of years and made it more and more about themselves as opposed to drawing closer and closer to God like he calls us to.
[00:29:47] In verses 41 and 42, Jesus says, I do not receive glory from them.
[00:29:52] But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves.
[00:29:58] He's calling these people out here.
[00:30:00] He's pointing at their motives, not just what they're doing, but why they do it.
[00:30:05] As Christians, as disciples of Christ, you and I, we do all things to the glory of God.
[00:30:11] You don't get to point at any part of your life and say, this is for me, but everything else is for him.
[00:30:16] We do all things to the glory of God.
[00:30:19] That's what you've been called to.
[00:30:20] And if you're not doing that, then you've misunderstood.
[00:30:23] All of this life is lived for his glory.
[00:30:26] Because this life is for him.
[00:30:29] It's not for us.
[00:30:30] All things were made by him.
[00:30:32] And all things were made for him.
[00:30:34] And as his disciples, we look to Jesus as our master.
[00:30:38] He's the example that we follow.
[00:30:39] We look to his perfect and sinless life that has been lived for the glory of God.
[00:30:46] We often say, like, he came and died for us.
[00:30:49] Well, yes, that is true.
[00:30:50] But he did that to the glory of God.
[00:30:53] That is the ultimate purpose of what Jesus did, why he came and suffered for us the way that he did.
[00:30:58] Not because we deserve it.
[00:31:00] He did that for the glory of God.
[00:31:03] That's the ultimate truth at the center of what Christ did.
[00:31:06] That's what motivated him because it was the will of God that it would be done.
[00:31:10] And Jesus did not come to receive glory from men.
[00:31:15] We cannot add, as people, as part of his creation, we cannot add anything to his glory.
[00:31:21] It's already perfect.
[00:31:22] It's already infinite and eternal.
[00:31:25] He is the glory of God that is being revealed to his creation.
[00:31:30] He does not seek glory from us as people.
[00:31:32] He does not need our praise, but he does deserve it.
[00:31:36] His mission is driven by God's will, not by our approval.
[00:31:39] He doesn't need us to say, yeah, that's good.
[00:31:43] It's already good whether we recognize that or not.
[00:31:46] By contrast, these men that he's speaking to and rebuking here are living their lives for their own glory as opposed to God's glory.
[00:31:54] They wear certain clothes.
[00:31:56] They do certain things.
[00:31:57] They pray loudly in public.
[00:31:58] They act religious.
[00:32:00] They're playing a part so that they can get attention and receive glory from other people.
[00:32:06] They want people to think that there's something virtuous or special and religious about them.
[00:32:13] That they're the example that they're supposed to look to.
[00:32:16] And because of that mindset, look how good I am.
[00:32:18] Look how much I'm tithing.
[00:32:20] Look how much I'm praying in public.
[00:32:22] Have you seen me fasting?
[00:32:23] Look how sweaty I am.
[00:32:24] I'm fasting right now.
[00:32:26] That's not what it's all about.
[00:32:27] They just want that attention.
[00:32:29] Because they're thinking that way, they need those accolades.
[00:32:32] They've completely lost the plot about what God's word actually says.
[00:32:36] They've misunderstood what their life is and who it is for.
[00:32:40] Our lives are not our own.
[00:32:43] Our lives belong to our creator.
[00:32:45] Jesus has already given these people evidence that proves his claim to be the son of God.
[00:32:52] According to the law that these men say that they follow, Jesus has already given them two to three testimonies that was needed to support what he said.
[00:32:59] So he has fulfilled the law in that regard.
[00:33:01] He has proven his point to people that are hostile towards him, but they're unwilling to believe.
[00:33:07] and this is Jesus rebuking them for their their unwillingness to say yes to the obvious truth that he has laid out in front of them he doesn't need these people to acknowledge the obvious truth
[00:33:19] it's true whether they believe it or not he doesn't need their worship and praise he is worthy of it he's the holy one he's the only one that actually is worthy of worship but their praise
[00:33:31] it doesn't add anything to him he is the son of god there's nothing that people can give to god that he does not already have so these people not acknowledging who he is cannot take away
[00:33:44] anything from him either you see how that works and the fact that they want the glory for themselves and that they refuse to acknowledge the truth even though these testimonies that jesus has given them
[00:33:55] prove who he is that even though he has shown them who he is the fact that they're unwilling to say yes to it that they deny it it shows that they do not have the love of god in them
[00:34:10] if they did if grace was at work in their hearts we would see it we would read about it here in scripture and we would see it by the way that they would respond to what jesus has said to them
[00:34:22] But we see the opposite.
[00:34:24] We see an unbelieving heart.
[00:34:26] And Jesus says, you're just unwilling.
[00:34:27] Here's the proof.
[00:34:28] You are unwilling to accept it.
[00:34:31] You're going to see people in your life, your neighbors, your friends, people in your family, that are unwilling to hear what you have to say about Christ.
[00:34:38] It is your job to tell them, not to convince them.
[00:34:41] You don't make them willing to say yes to it.
[00:34:44] No amount of evidence that you can lay out in front of them, and you should give them an evidence.
[00:34:47] Tell them why you believe, not just what you believe.
[00:34:49] but no amount of evidence you can give those people that he puts in front of you will ever convince them it's him that convinces them it's his grace that prepares their hearts that softens it that opens up their ears that opens up their eyes and makes them able to say yes to the word
[00:35:07] of god when they hear it you get the privilege of sharing that with them but understand it's him who does all the work in verse 43 jesus says i have come in my father's name and you do not receive
[00:35:22] me if another comes in his own name you will receive him these religious leaders are willing to accept false teachers but not the messiah when he's right in front of them they're willing to accept false teachers and wolves that just feed their egos and they do that because those people
[00:35:41] will tell them what they want to hear we say that a lot of modern churches in modern religious culture there are the majority of teachers are not real biblical teachers because they're trying to soften they're trying to make you feel good when you hear it sometimes the truth hurts i'm
[00:35:58] not going to tell you something that feels good from the pulpit even though there's nothing that makes you feel better than the gospel when you know that it's true i'm not trying to tell you
[00:36:05] how good you are or how wonderful you are how lucky god is that you accepted him as your lord the Savior? That's not what God says. God has mercy on us. We are sinful people that cannot
[00:36:17] save ourselves. It's good news because the bad news is we cannot save ourselves. We need a Savior.
[00:36:23] But there's people who don't want you to hear that part because they're worried they're going to push you away. These people will accept false teachers for the same reason that people will accept false teachers in 2025. People want to hear how good and special they are. Most people,
[00:36:39] That's what they're looking for.
[00:36:40] They're not looking for the gospel.
[00:36:41] They're looking for a social word.
[00:36:44] They're looking for something that tells them how great they are.
[00:36:47] And you know what?
[00:36:48] You're just doing your best.
[00:36:49] You'll figure it out.
[00:36:50] It's not what God says.
[00:36:51] God says, I give you grace, not because you've earned it, but because I have mercy on you.
[00:36:57] People will accept a false teacher, but they won't accept the evidence that God has given us that proves the good news of the gospel is true.
[00:37:07] There's nothing new under the sun.
[00:37:08] It's the same then as it is now.
[00:37:11] False teachers won't have to try very hard to find an audience because most people want that glory for themselves.
[00:37:19] They want you to tell you how good they are.
[00:37:21] All the wolves have to do is just tell people that they're wonderfully made and that God loves you just the way that you are.
[00:37:26] He does love you the way that you are, but doesn't leave you the way that you are.
[00:37:30] He will save you and he will sanctify you.
[00:37:33] That's a hard truth for people that think they're already perfect right now.
[00:37:36] They're already self-righteous because they think they're good enough to earn their salvation.
[00:37:41] The hard truth of the Bible is that none of us are good, not one.
[00:37:44] The Bible says none are good, no, not one.
[00:37:47] Only God is good.
[00:37:50] Self-righteous people hate the truth of that because they think that they are good.
[00:37:55] And false teachers take advantage of that by just telling people what they want to hear.
[00:37:59] I know it says this, but you're really a good person.
[00:38:02] You're really a kind and generous person.
[00:38:04] You're good enough.
[00:38:06] Don't change.
[00:38:07] It's okay.
[00:38:08] Where sin abounds, grace abounds more, you're fine.
[00:38:10] The Bible speaks directly to those things.
[00:38:13] None of us are good enough to earn our salvation.
[00:38:16] In verses 44 to 47, Jesus says, How can you believe when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?
[00:38:28] Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father.
[00:38:31] The one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope.
[00:38:35] For if you believed Moses, you would believe me.
[00:38:39] But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?
[00:38:44] He's confronting their unbelief.
[00:38:46] How many times have we had a conversation with people and just said, here's what it is, and they say something completely contrary to that.
[00:38:52] We go, well, we'll talk about it again later.
[00:38:55] We're not really trying to confront their unbelief.
[00:38:57] We're just laying out what the truth actually is.
[00:38:59] Jesus sets the pattern before us.
[00:39:01] He says, this is what you do.
[00:39:03] He's confronting their unbelief.
[00:39:05] You've put your hope in this other thing as opposed to your creator.
[00:39:10] That's what he's telling these people here.
[00:39:12] How can they possibly believe when they seek glory from each other instead of looking to God?
[00:39:18] Their hard hearts hinder their ability to believe.
[00:39:22] It blinds them to the truth.
[00:39:24] Jesus tells them that he is not their accuser.
[00:39:27] Moses is the one that they put their hope in.
[00:39:29] And it is Moses that accuses them because the things that God wrote through Moses, the law, well, that points to Jesus.
[00:39:37] They claim that they follow the law, but truly they really reject it because they reject the Messiah that the law points to.
[00:39:45] If they really did believe the things that Moses had written, they would believe in Jesus because the scripture testifies about the Messiah.
[00:39:54] Jesus is proving that these people he's talking to, these religious leaders in Jerusalem, he's proven to us that they're hypocrites.
[00:40:03] They're failure to believe Moses' words.
[00:40:05] Show us why they reject Jesus' words.
[00:40:09] It's because the love of God is not in them.
[00:40:12] If we love anything in this life more than we love Christ, then we're in trouble.
[00:40:17] We're not loving him the way he's called us to do that.
[00:40:20] Whether it's our religion or our dogma, ourselves our traditions that we come out of whatever that is if we love that more than we love our creator then we have misunderstood and we're as bad as these people that jesus is rebuking
[00:40:34] here it's either christ at the center of your life or it is something else make sure that it is christ that you love more than anything these people studied the scripture they know what it says
[00:40:45] but they missed the point and the truth was lost on these people even when they were confronted with the evidence of it.
[00:40:52] Jesus gives them multiple testimonies for who he is.
[00:40:55] The Lord God, the Son of God is standing in front of them.
[00:40:58] The Messiah is speaking to them directly and they are unwilling to say yes.
[00:41:03] Even though they had the scripture, they had studied it, they know what it said.
[00:41:07] They didn't want it to be true because they wanted it to be about them as opposed to being about God.
[00:41:14] As we reflect on what we've just read here today, we should think about the way that we as his people read scripture do we read it like these guys do are we reading ourselves into the
[00:41:25] bible like a false religious leader in jerusalem did two thousand years ago or do we read our bibles and see christ on every single page of scripture we should read this bible with a humble
[00:41:37] and grateful heart it's a privilege to get god's word and to be able to read it for a long time it was a thing that very few people had access to i read a story about a little girl two-year-old
[00:41:49] girl in North Korea last week that got sentenced to life in prison because she owned a Bible.
[00:41:55] Two years old. She can't even read that Bible yet, but she had it.
[00:41:59] Someone gave it to her. And the rest of her life is going to be spent in a prison in North Korea just for having the Word of God. It's a true story.
[00:42:08] We have this privilege. If your Bible has dust on it to sit on a shelf and you're not reading it every day, you're missing this opportunity.
[00:42:15] You don't eat one meal a day.
[00:42:17] You don't just eat on Sunday.
[00:42:19] You eat multiple times a day, every day.
[00:42:22] You don't just eat twice a year on Easter and Christmas.
[00:42:25] You eat every single day because you're hungry.
[00:42:29] God's word feeds us.
[00:42:31] Take advantage of this privilege he has given you to read his word, to study it, to meditate on it, to pray about it, and to share it with the people in your life.
[00:42:39] We should be grateful that we have his word.
[00:42:42] We should ask the Spirit to reveal Christ to us as we read through it, knowing that God's Word is about Christ.
[00:42:49] Every single thing in this Bible points to our Messiah.
[00:42:52] It points to our Creator.
[00:42:53] We should praise Him for that and help us to see that as we read through it every day.
[00:42:58] And we should praise Him for every word that reveals Jesus Christ to us.
[00:43:02] If you have any questions about today's message, please come and see me after service.
[00:43:06] And we'll go deeper into the text to see what God's Word says about this.
[00:43:10] Let's pray.
[00:43:10] our father in heaven lord god we praise you we thank you for this privilege you've given us to to come together and fellowship with our brothers and sisters in christ and to seek you in your word
[00:43:20] lord we pray that you will grow us in our faith we pray for understanding we pray for wisdom we pray for discernment we pray that you would make us bold and how we share what we learned
[00:43:29] today with the people that we love we pray for opportunities to talk to them that you would give us icebreakers that you would open up those conversations and make us capable of sharing Christ being a testimony for you by the way that we would do that father we know
[00:43:42] that we plant and we water but it's you who gives the increase we pray that you would give those who you would give us those opportunities to speak with everything that you've given to us in Christ we pray that you would open their
[00:43:54] eyes and change their hearts we pray that you would bless them the way that you've blessed us we know that we don't deserve we pray that you would give those people who are so much better than us everything that you have given to us
[00:44:04] in Jesus. Lord, we thank you for this.
[00:44:07] We praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.