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How To Enter The Kingdom of God

HOW TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD

John 3:1-7

We sing a song: “What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” 1 John 1:7; Rev. 1:5. According to scripture, when are those sins washed away?

Now, let’s look at the passage that was read. This is a very familiar passage…we have all read this…we have all heard it many times.

When it comes to the spiritual realm, there are only two kingdoms.

Then there is this kingdom spoken of here in John 3 by Christ…the Kingdom of God.

So, there are two kingdoms.

But, not only did Jesus come to provide a way for us….but He also came to tell us how to get out of the one and into the other.

Look at verse 1. “Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Him by night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with them.”

Now as you look at this I want you to notice some things.

  1. First of all, Nicodemus was a religious man!
  1. Not only was he religious, but it says that he was a “ruler of the Jews.”
  1. Not only that, if you go over into John 19:38-39 you find out that after Jesus died, this same man brought about 100 pounds of spices to embalm Jesus’ body with.

So what you have here is a man that had it all.

Now, a lot of people today would look at a man like Nicodemus and say “He’s going to heaven!”

But look what happens in verse 3.

Here was a perfect opportunity for Jesus to make an exception!

Look at verse 5: “Jesus answered, “Truly, truly I say to you, UNLESS one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.”

 Look at verse 7: “Do not marvel that I said to you, “You MUST be born again.”

This isn’t optional!

 A lot of people today think they are the exception to this.

But Jesus says, “Unless you are born again….unless you are born of the water and the Spirit, you cannot enter into the Kingdom of God!”

And the reason he won’t make an exception for you is because entrance into the Kingdom of God is not based on human performance.

Entrance is based on believing what Christ says here in vs. 3 and 5 and 7…and then doing what He says.

Just recently I talked with a fellow who had just recently gone to a relative’s funeral and he told me that because this relative was “a real nice and decent man” he had no doubts that he had gone to heaven.

If that is your thinking…if that is your idea….you keep in mind that Jesus himself said, “Unless you are born again, you will not enter into the Kingdom of God.”

So, what does Jesus mean in verse 3 when He says, “unless one is BORN AGAIN he will not see the Kingdom of God.”

There are several different ideas on this issue.

There are several different ideas but surely, in a matter as important as this one…Jesus didn’t have several things in mind.

Well, Jesus tells us in verse 5.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

But they try to ignore…or excuse the being “born of water.”

For 1500 years after Christ said these words…no one disputed what Christ meant here by being “born of water.”

But let me show you a couple passages of scripture. Turn to Galatians 3:26.

“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”

Notice he says they are “sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”

And now look at verse 29: “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.”

And some say, “Well, Nicodemus didn’t even know about baptism at the time.”

If you want to be “BORN AGAIN”…Jesus says you must be “born of water”…and the only water ever involved in anyone’s salvation in scripture is the water’s of baptism.

But Jesus says you have to be BORN OF THE SPIRIT ALSO.”

Well some think that this means that the Spirit “comes on you in a miraculous way” and makes you a child of God…and that man has no part in it.

So what does He mean when he says you must be “BORN OF THE SPIRIT”?

Anyone can be baptized…but just because you are baptized doesn’t mean that you are going to be saved.

There are only two kingdoms: the kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of God.

The Miracle at Cana

THE MIRACLE AT CANA

John 2:1-11

John wrote this gospel to try, once again, to convince people that Jesus is  truly the Son of God.

But John not only gives us verbal testimony confirming that Christ is the Son of God but he also gives us physical signs or miracles. In this gospel he gives us 7 miracles that confirm who Jesus is and the first one is found here in chapter 2.

There are many things going on in our world and in our culture that can shake your faith; but what Jesus does here in these 11 verses will hopefully encourage you to stay faithful to Christ no matter what happens.

 So, let’s look at this first miracle; look at vs. 1-2.

And on the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee,

And it wasn’t just a celebration for the bride and groom; this was a celebration for everyone in the community.

And vs. 1 says that “the mother of Jesus was there; 2 and Jesus also was invited, and His disciples, to the wedding.”

 Now, some people think that Jesus should have been a “killjoy.”

But you know what, Jesus doesn’t do that.

Listen, God doesn’t want us to be miserable and walk around frowning all the time.

So Jesus is “invited” to this wedding

But Jesus was “invited” to this wedding and the fact that Jesus attended this wedding and the fact that He performed His first miracle at a wedding emphasizes the sanctity of marriage.

In fact, any society that honors marriage and the life-long commitment made and kept between a man and woman, and who rear children in the bond of love; that society will prosper; it will be secure; it will know peace.

So, Jesus attends this wedding; and His mother is there and that is no surprise because Mary had lived in Nazareth for several years; and Nazareth is only about 9 miles away and they would have known the people just up the road; possibly related to some of them.

So, this wedding celebration is in full swing; everyone is having a wonderful time; but then there is a PROBLEM. In vs. 3 the “wine runs out.”

Now, what about the wine? I think it is interesting that a lot of people do not even see the miracle that takes place; they don’t even see Jesus as the Son of God; what they see in this event is justification to drink! To imbibe alcohol.

In the world that these people lived in wine was made from all kinds of fruit; mostly grapes.

So, they run out of wine at this wedding celebration and that is a catastrophic embarrassment; and in vs. 3 Mary says to Jesus, “They have no wine.”

Well think about it this way. Jesus is somewhere around 30 years old and up to this time if Mary ever had a problem who do you think she turned to?

And look at vs. 4 how Jesus responds. Jesus says, “Woman…”

Because He is telling her that their relationship has changed; He is telling her that they don’t have the same relationship that they have had up until now; It’s over.

She is no longer in a position to act as an authority in His life; she is no longer in a position to tell Him what to do; to make suggestions to Him.

By the way, what Jesus does here refutes the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching of asking Mary to plead with Jesus for the things you desire because Jesus cannot refuse Mary; Mary is not in a position of authority over Jesus.

Then Jesus says in vs. 4, “My hour has not come.”

And with that Mary bows out and she says to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

So Jesus takes care of the problem. Look at vs. 6: Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each.

 Now, vs. 7: Jesus said to them, “Fill the water pots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.

Now verse 8: And He (Jesus) said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the headwaiter.” And they took it to him.

And another thing, you have a lot of people in attendance at this wedding and no one ever came back later and said, “This didn’t happen! This is a lie!” Surely if this didn’t happen someone would have said so.

And notice He tells them to “Draw some and take to the headwaiter. And they took it.”

 Now, vs. 9: And when the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew) the headwaiter called the bridegroom; 10 and said to Him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when men have drunk freely, then that which is poorer, you have kept the good wine until now.”

There is a great principle based on these words.

So Jesus turns the water into wine and vs. 11 says:  This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

 Now, let me separate you all in three groups. You will be in one of these three groups.

In vs. 11 it says that “His disciples believed in Him.” That is group number one.

Look at John 12:37: Though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him.” This is group number 2.

And then there is group number 3. In John 12:42: Nevertheless, many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue, 43 for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.

 Every one of us is in one of these three groups; We either believe; or we don’t believe; or we are not willing to pay the price to trust in Christ.

If you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; be steadfast in your faith.

If you are not sure about Jesus and you want to learn more; we are here to assist you in that as well.

 

 

 

 

Jesus Cleanses The Temple The First Time

JESUS CLEANSES THE TEMPLE THE FIRST TIME

John 2:13-22

As you read through the New Testament there are only a few instances where Jesus gets upset and what takes place in this passage is one of those instances. If you really want to upset Jesus do what these people were doing.

Now, you may have recognized this account as “Jesus cleansing the temple.”

Now, with that said we must keep in mind that Jesus would be unknown to these people.

So, let’s look now starting in vs. 13. John says: And the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.”

And Jesus would not be the only one who came to Jerusalem! This week was the most significant week of the spiritual year for the Jews.

But, look at vs. 14 at what Jesus found when He entered the Temple.

14 And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers seated.

And it was permitted to make money offerings in the temple but only certain coins were approved (people coming from a distance may bring coins of a different currency all together; some coins may have had an image on them that was not acceptable) so the “moneychangers” would take the unapproved of coins and exchange them for coins that were approved.

But notice that Jesus found them “in the temple.”

 Now there may have been some other things going on that Jesus would not approve of.

And as far as the “moneychangers” were concerned, they would undervalue your “unapproved of coin” and charge you 3 of your coins for one of theirs.

But Jesus doesn’t mention those things here in John 2. Jesus does not object to any dishonesty taking place.

The New International Version says: How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”

 Isn’t that true today? How many times in a week do you hear someone show disrespect to God by taking His name in vain?

 And these people had no respect or consideration for those who sincerely came to worship God.

These people selling the animals; and these moneychangers did not treat God with the respect that He deserves; and they didn’t show any respect or consideration for those who sincerely came to worship; and Jesus drives them out.

Now evidently, what Jesus does here doesn’t have much effect on the Jewish leaders or those selling and changing money because in 2 years He will do this all again.

In vs. 16, Jesus says, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a house of merchandise.” (The fact that Jesus refers to the temple as “His Father’s house”; that in itself speaks of a special relationship between Jesus and God. Jesus is referring to Himself as God’s Son, or the Son of God.)

And then in vs. 17 it says, His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Thy house will consume me.”

Now, let’s read verses 18-22. Keep in mind up to this time the Jews did not know who Jesus was and so they are somewhat amused by what He has just done. So they ask: vs. 18:

18 The Jews therefore answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, seeing that You do these things?”

 19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”  20 The Jews therefore said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 When therefore He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture, and the word which Jesus had spoken.

 And as you think about that remember again the reason why John wrote this. John 20:30-31:

Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

 

 

 

 

The Disciples Follow

THE DISCIPLES FOLLOW

John 1:35-42

 To begin I want to take you back to verses 29. John the author of this gospel wants everyone to believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that He is the Son of God; and to get people to believe, John gives us the eye-witness testimony of John the Baptist.

So, in vs. 29 John tells us that Jesus came to John the Baptist and John the Baptist sees Him coming and he cries out, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

 When John says that he is referring to a concept that every Jew would understand. They had been to the temple; they had seen the temple priests and what they do with a lamb; they may have even offered up a lamb as a sin sacrifice for themselves.

Now, we have no way of knowing if Jesus heard what John said but if He did it didn’t deter Jesus because when John says, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” he has just announced to Jesus and everyone there that would listen, “This man is going to die for the sin of the world.”

Now, what does it mean when John says, “He will take away the sin of the world”;

And when He takes away the sin of the world it is a provision that is so big, and so generous and that is so rich that He does it for the whole world.

So, John sees Jesus coming and look what he says starting in vs. 30:  John says, “This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ 31 “And I did not recognize Him (John knew that there was a “Man” who ranked higher” than he did, he just didn’t know who he was.),

31 “And I did not recognize Him but in order that He might be manifested (revealed) to Israel, I came baptizing in water.”

32 And John bore witness saying, “I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 33 “And I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ 34 “And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

Again, John says, “I did not recognize Him; John may have known Jesus, they were 2nd cousins; but when John says, “I didn’t recognize Him”, John is saying “I didn’t know that He was the Messiah, the Son of God; but when John saw the Spirit descend on Jesus and remain there, John realized who Jesus was and look at vs. 34.

We sing a song and what does it say: #176 Your only Son no sin to hide…

Now, let’s go to the verses that were read. Vs. 35:  Again the next day John was standing with two of his (John’s) disciples, 36 and he looked upon Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold (Look), the Lamb of God!”

Vs. 37   And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus turned, and beheld them following, and said to them, “What do you seek? (What do you want?)

Why did Jesus ask this question? Did He not know the answer?

Many times God will ask the questions and He doesn’t do that because He doesn’t know the answer.

In the garden after Adam sinned, God said, “Adam, where are you? God knew where Adam was. He wanted Adam to think about how far he had moved from God.

Jesus said to His disciples, “Who do men say that I am?” He knew the answer. He wanted them to answer that and consider what people were saying.

In John 5, Jesus asks the paralyzed man, “Do you wish to get well?’ IF people didn’t understand what was going on they would think that is a very cruel question to ask.

So, sometimes God will ask the question to get us to think about our motives.

So, Jesus asks the disciples, “What do you seek?” or “What do you want?”; and look at what they say, “Where are you staying?”

And look at vs. 39. Jesus doesn’t give them information. Instead He gives them an invitation: “Come and you will see.”

 Vs. 39  They came therefore and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.

40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He found first his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus.

 Jesus looked at him, and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

43 The next day He purposed to go forth into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.” 

44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

 46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”

Well, instead of arguing with Nathanael, Philip simply says, “Come and see. ” 

 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!”

  49 Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.”

 50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these.”  51 And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you shall see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” 

So, let me ask, “Are the testimonies of these witnesses important? Sure they are! In fact, they are vital and let me give you two reasons why their testimony is so important.

30 Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

And here is the second reason why the testimony of these three witnesses is so important.

There are a lot of people, several right here in Brady who will tell you, “You know, Jesus was a good man, a good teacher, a good example, and we will even say that he worked a few miracles. But the Son of God, he is not! The Lamb of God, he is not! God in human form, he is not!”

So, who do you say Jesus is? Is He the Lamb of God who can take away your sin? Is He the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed One sent from God; is He the Son of God who is to be followed and obeyed?

Or is He nothing more than a good man; and is all of this just a fairy tale and myth?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Testimony Of John

THE TESTIMONY OF JOHN

John 1:19-23

 Here in the Gospel of John, the word “Jesus” and the word “Christ” is found 170 times.

Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

Now, here in chapter 1, in the first 18 verses John introduces the Word to us and John says that the Word is the eternal God, the Almighty Creator in whom is life and light, and who came in the flesh.

But now, starting in vs. 19, in keeping with his purpose for writing this gospel, and to confirm what John has said about Jesus, John gives us the testimony of John the Baptist.

So, let’s look at what John the Baptist has to say about Jesus. Look with me at vs. 19 again.

And this is the witness of John when the Jews (this is the first time we see this term “Jews” used by John; and John will use this term 70 times in this gospel and  normally when John  uses this word “Jews”, he doesn’t use it to refer to the people of Israel as a whole. He uses it to refer to a particular group who is hostile toward Jesus).

And this is the witness of John when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem (vs. 24 tells us that these priests and Levites were sent from the Pharisees. When it came to their religion, the Pharisees were very legalistic and strict and they often bound things on others that they themselves would not do. And, we can only imagine how intimidating this delegation of priests and Levites must have been in their long robes and priestly garb).

But these priests and Levites come from Jerusalem to John the Baptist and they ask him, “Who are you?” 20 And he confessed, and did not deny, and he confessed, “I am not the Christ.”

 But they ask him, “Who are you?” and he says, “I am not the Christ.”

Now, we have talked about this in a previous lesson, but one of the reasons that John the writer of this gospel gives this testimony of John the Baptist that “he is not the Christ” is because some of John the Baptists’ disciples would continue to follow him.

21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” (Malachi 4:5-6; God said He would send Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord) And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” (Deut. 18:15-19 – God promised that another prophet would come)  And he answered, “No.” 22 They said then to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

 Now, vs. 23. John says, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

Vs. 24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. (The Pharisees considered themselves to be the spiritual leaders of Israel and here John is, drawing large crowds of fellow Jews and baptizing them and the Pharisees want to know about him.)

25 And they asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” (By what authority are you baptizing these people?)

Baptism was not a new practice in Judaism. It was a regular rite in the admission of converts from other religions.

26 John answered them saying, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know.

Vs. 26 He says, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. 27 “It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”

 Now, contrast John’s words to some of our attitudes when we pray.

  Look at vs. 29: The next day he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Vs. 30  “This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ 31 “And I did not recognize Him (John knew Jesus; they were second cousins; at the time though John didn’t know that He was the Messiah) but in order that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” 32 And John bore witness saying, “I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. (God gave John the Baptist the sure sign that Jesus was God’s Son.)

 33 “And I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ 34 “And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

 So, this is John’s testimony; and in essence it is God’s testimony; and John knows that Jesus is God’s Son and the question is, do you and I?

 

 

In The Beginning Was The Word

IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD

John 1:1-5

I appreciate _______ reading this passage of scripture and if I were to give you a simple summary of this gospel it would be this: “It’s all about Jesus!”

From the way that the apostle John introduces his gospel here with the words that were read, obviously John wants people to learn or at least be reminded of some things about Jesus.

In fact, look at what John says in chapter 20:30-31:

Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;

 31 but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

 And, just because John is writing so that “we believe”, that should not cause us to conclude that we do not need to hear what John says because we already believe.

So, John’s purpose for writing this gospel is to teach us and remind us that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you/I may have life in His name.”

John says, “In the beginning was the Word.”

So John says, “In the beginning was the Word.”

 So, why does John refer to Jesus as “the Word”, the Logos (Greek).

 So, John says in vs. 1:”In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

In fact, Jesus Himself actually confirms what John says here.  This is John 17:4-5: Jesus is praying here and, speaking to the Father, He says, “I glorified you on earth having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”

 And a little later in vs. 24 Jesus again says, “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for you loved Me before the foundation of the world.”

 In both of these passages Jesus is saying, “I was with you Father in that period before time began; I was there, I shared your glory” and those statements all help us to understand what John is talking about in vs. 1 when John says, “In the beginning was the Word.”

In fact, notice that there is no genealogy here in John’s gospel like in Matthew and Luke’s gospel accounts.

And notice also that John says that “the Word was with God.”

In fact, this phrase can be rendered, “The Word was face to face with God.”

And if you look at the end of vs. 1, John says, “…and the word was God.”

Now, look at vs. 2. John really wants us to understand the eternal nature of Jesus because in verse 2 John repeats the statement again, “the Word was in the beginning with God.”

Now, look at vs. 3. Speaking of Jesus, John says: All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

 16 For by Him (Jesus) all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities– all things have been created by Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

 Both John and the apostle Paul want us to know that Jesus is God because “He created all things.”

Now, look at vs. 4: In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

However, because John has just spoken of Jesus as being the Creator, in this verse the word “life” more than likely speaks of “life”; Jesus is the creator and it is only because there is “life” in Him, that there is life in anything on earth.

But, if John does also have in mind here “eternal life” to pursue anyone or anything other than Jesus in who “life exists” is to pursue death.

And look at the end of the verse: “And the life was the light of men.”

But now, look at vs. 5: And the light shines in the darkness…

 Now, look at the second part of the verse: …and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Look at this in John 12:35. Jesus speaking to His disciples says, “For a little while longer the light is among you. Walk while you have the light, that darkness may not overtake you;

 So, what John is saying in chapter 1:5 is: And the light shines in the darkness and the darkness was not able to overtake or overcome it.

John 1:5  And the light shines in the darkness (continuous action), and the darkness did not comprehend or overcome it.

 So, I have to ask myself, “Am I letting the light that Jesus has given me; am I letting it shine in such a way that others can see my good works, and glorify the Father who is in heaven?”

 

They Did Not Break His Legs

THEY DID NOT BREAK HIS LEGS

John 19: 31—37

When you think of the crucifixion of Christ the first thing that probably pops into your mind is the suffering.

But there is so much more to the cross other than just the suffering, the cruelty and the dying.

And what I want to do is show you just a part of the crucifixion that the people in the day the crucifixion took place apparently did not comprehend.

Look at the passage that was read again and notice starting in verse 32.

32 The soldiers therefore came, and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other man who was crucified with Him; 33 but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs;

Now, as far as I know this is the only mention in the gospel accounts of the fact that they did not break Jesus’ legs.

And according to some scholars, the reason they would break their legs is because what the people who were crucified could do is push up with their legs which enabled them to catch their breath…and to relieve the discomfort some.

That may be true, but one thing is for sure, by breaking their legs that increased the injury and often sent the body into deeper shock.

So, they were checking each one who had been crucified and if they were still alive, they were breaking their legs…but when they came to Jesus…He was already dead…and so they didn’t break His legs.

But there is something more significant to the fact that they didn’t break His legs than just the fact that He was already dead.

The fact that they didn’t break His legs or His bones is a fulfillment of Scripture.

Well, look at Psalm 34: 20.

 20 He keeps all his bones; Not one of them is broken.

Well, look at the context of these words starting in verse 19:

 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous; But the LORD delivers him out of them all.  20 He keeps all his bones; Not one of them is broken.

But John says, “That is not at all that He was. The fact that they didn’t break His bones is God’s way of declaring Him as being “innocent” or “righteous.”

But there is more. Look at verse 21:  Evil shall slay the wicked; And those who hate the righteous will be condemned. 22 The LORD redeems the soul of His servants; And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.

The fact that Jesus’ legs were not broken declared Him as righteous and those who crucified Him as wicked!

When word came to them that they didn’t have to break Jesus’ legs that should have said something to them!

Look at this. In Acts 2 starting in verse 22, the apostle Peter tells these very same people what they did…and who it was they had crucified.

Listen, most of the people still refused to acknowledge their sin.

And that begs us to ask the question today…what about you/I?

This whole thing took place so that you may be saved.

But there is more behind the fact that they did not “break his legs.”

By the time you get to chapter 12 here, God has already tried 9 times to get Pharaoh to let His people go.

But God would make provision for His people to escape this plague of death.

It was to be a male lamb…symbolic of strength.

And on the 14th day of the month, all the people together, every household together, was to kill their lamb just at twilight.

And I want you to notice now verse 46:

“It is to be eaten in a single house; your are not to bring forth any of the flesh outside the house, nor are you to break any bone of it.”

 Now, if they obeyed these instructions look at what would happen; vs. 13.

“And the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”

This was their only way of escape!

This “Passover Lamb” was God’s will, and it was their only way of escape from death and bondage.

Now, none of this would have any bearing on us if it were not for these words found in 1 Cor. 5: 7 where Paul says that “Christ is our Passover.”

You see, back in Exodus, the Israelites weren’t allowed to have altars to offer up sacrifices on.

And because Paul says that Christ is our Passover…and His blood was shed on the cross…that makes the cross an altar.

And that is another reason why His legs were not broken!

Now, once again, there are two sides to this.

But now, here is the other side of the picture.

And the question is: What about you?

 

Four Reasons To Follow Jesus

FOUR REASONS TO FOLLOW JESUS

John 1:35-42

Look again at verses 35-37: Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked upon Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

And let me tell you they did more than just follow Jesus.

 Perhaps for the same reasons these two disciples did.

Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked upon Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”

But wait a minute…people will tell you to do a lot of things!

Well, John wasn’t just someone…look back up in verse 19.

But look at who he does say he is: “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’

And one of the reasons these two disciples followed after Jesus is because they were told to…but not just because they were told to…but because of who told them.

Look at the second reason we need to follow Jesus is found at the end of verse 36. John says, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”

 But He isn’t just the “Lamb of God.” Look back at verse 29.

But what was really significant here is they weren’t offering up the lamb…God was!

And the same is true for us.

There is a third reason why we should follow Jesus…look at verse 37.

And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus turned, and beheld them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” And they said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?”

And notice what they say, “Where are you staying?”

These two disciples wanted to know more about Jesus…what He was like…what He taught.

And that is the reason why we need to follow Him too.

And it isn’t enough to take a turn with Jesus now and then.

If we really want to see things as they really are…we need to follow Jesus.

Then one more reason why we need to follow Jesus…look at verse 39:

He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” They came therefore and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.

 It may not have been the best accommodations…they may have gone to a stable…perhaps to a storeroom…

These two disciples followed Jesus because of the blessing…the comfort…the peace and that joy that came from being with Him…and that is the reason we need to follow Him too.

They followed Jesus because they were told too by John.

Have you been following Jesus?

Will you repent?

Can You Prove Who You Are

CAN YOU PROVE WHO YOU ARE?

John 5: 18-24

Here in this passage that we just read the sharks are circling.

But Jesus still tries to get them to understand…and to change their minds.

And so beginning in verse 19,  Jesus answers His critics…He makes His case…and He gives them more evidence…and more reasons why they should believe that He is who He claims to be.

So, let’s begin by looking again at Jesus’ claims.

In verses 19-23, seven times, Jesus says that He is the “Son of God.”

And so what you have here is Jesus, trying to get these men who have already passed judgment on Him, who have already decided that He should die…to change their minds by making these powerful claims: “I am the Son of God; I am the giver of life, “I am the eternal judge.”

Well, you can only imagine what must have been going on in the minds of His critics and enemies?

Well, Jesus continues to try. Look at verse 31: “If I alone bear witness of Myself, My testimony is not true.”

So look at what He does starting in verse 32. Jesus says: “There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the testimony which He bears of Me is true.”

 Look at His first witness found in verses 33-35…it is John the Baptist. Jesus says: “You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.”

 Jesus is saying to His Jewish critics, “You went out and heard John preach. And you heard John say that someone was coming after him…one who was greater than he was…someone whose sandals he wasn’t even worthy to tie.”

But then Jesus has another witness to testify to or confirm His claims of being the Christ. Look at verse 36.

But the witness which I have is greater than that of John;

 “You Jewish leaders, if you don’t want to believe what I have said, and if you don’t want to believe what John said, just think about My works.”

But Jesus keeps going…trying to get these people to believe. Look at His next witness found in verse 37:

“And the Father who sent Me, He has borne witness of Me.”

And Jesus keeps going in verse 39 and on through verses 45 and 46…and He says, “If you will not believe what I say, and you will not believe what John said about Me, and if you will not believe the works that I do, and if you will not believe the Father when He called Me His Son, will you believe the scriptures and the things that Moses wrote?”

 Jesus tells these Jewish leaders, “You know the scriptures…you read them…you know what Moses said…and what Isaiah said about Me…and Jeremiah…and you know how they talked about My birth, and my suffering, and my ministry, and my death…and my resurrection…”

Jesus made these claims: “I am the Son of God, I am the giver of life, I am the judge.”

“If you won’t believe Jesus Himself when He claims to be the Son of God, the giver of life, and the eternal judge…will  you believe what these witnesses say?”

In our court system today it is a dangerous thing to refuse to believe the evidence and witnesses.

 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

Now, there is another question that I want to ask in reference to what has taken place here.

I read in Eph. 3: 10 that those of us who claim to be  “the church” or who claim to be  Christians that we are to take God’s wisdom that has been summed up in Christ to a world that needs Christ.

And I read in 1 John 1: 7 that those of us who claim to be Christians are to “walk in the light as He Himself is in the light”…

And what about Eph. 5: 3-5…where Paul is talking to Christians and he says:

But do not let immorality or any impurity or greed even be named among you, as is proper among saints; 4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

And I read that…and that is the way that Christians are supposed to be…

Then I read in John 13: 35 that “all men will know we are disciples of Jesus by the way we love one another.”

And I read in Acts 20:7 that the followers of Christ were “gathered on the first day of the week” and I wonder, does your attendance in the assemblies…and my attendance in the assemblies prove that we are who we claim to be?

One more, Philippians 4: 4…the apostle Paul says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice.”

Are we the people that we claim to be…and more than that…can we prove it?

In closing, there are two things I want you to take home with you.

And then the second thing I want you to take home with you is this:

The Miracle At Cana

THE MIRACLE AT CANA

John 2:1-11

 

John wrote this gospel after all the other gospels had been written and his purpose for writing was to try, once again, to convince people that Jesus was truly the Son of God.

So, what John does in this book is he gives us a collection of supporting proofs that Jesus was who He claimed to be. Some of those proofs are verbal proofs; or the inspired words of John himself; the testimony of John the Baptizer; and you have the words of some of the Old Testament prophets; and then you have the verbal testimony of Andrew, Peter, and Philip.

So John gives us verbal testimony confirming that Christ is the Son of God but he also gives us physical signs or miracles. In this gospel he gives us 8 miracles that confirm who Jesus is and the first one is found here in chapter 2.

 So, let’s look at this first miracle; let’s begin with the PARTY.

And the bridegroom would have the full responsibility for the cost of the wedding.

Now, look at vs. 2 tells us that Jesus was “invited.”

But Jesus was “invited” to this wedding and the fact that Jesus attended this wedding and the fact that He performed His first miracle at a wedding emphasizes the sanctity of marriage.

In fact, any society that honors marriage; any society that elevates marriage; any society that honors a life-long commitment made and kept between a man and woman, and who rear children in the bond of love; that society will prosper; it will be secure; it will know peace.

So, Jesus attends this wedding; and His mother is there and that is no surprise because Mary had lived in Nazareth for several years; and Nazareth is only about 9 miles away and they would have known the people just up the road; possible related to some of them.

So, this wedding celebration is in full swing; everyone is having a wonderful time; but then there is a PROBLEM. In vs. 3 the “wine runs out.”

Now, what about the wine? I think it is interesting that a lot of people do not even see the miracle that takes place; they don’t even see Jesus as the Son of God; what they see in this event is justification to drink! To imbibe alcohol.

So, they run out of wine at this wedding celebration and that is a catastrophic embarrassment; and in vs. 3 Mary says to Jesus, “They have no wine.”

Well think about it this way. Jesus is somewhere around 30 years old and up to this time if Mary ever had a problem who do you think she turned to?

And look at vs. 4 how Jesus responds. Jesus says, “Woman…”

Because He is telling her that their relationship has changed; He is telling her that they don’t have the same relationship that they have had up until now; It’s over.

She is no longer in a position to act as an authority in His life; she is no longer in a position to tell Him what to do; to make suggestions to Him.

This would be a big change because He has probably done everything she has ever asked Him to do; He did those things out of love; but now she could no longer demand anything of Him; He was to be about His Father’s business.

By the way, what Jesus does here refutes the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching of asking Mary to plead with Jesus for the things you desire because Jesus cannot refuse Mary; Mary is not in a position of authority over Jesus.

Then Jesus says in vs. 4, “My hour has not come.”

And with that Mary bows out and she says to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

And with that Jesus takes care of the problem. Look at vs. 6: Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each.

 Now, vs. 7: Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.

You now have people who are completely disinterested parties who are now going to give testimony to this miracle; they don’t have any stake in this issue; they are not trying to prove anything about Jesus one way or another.

Now verse 8: And He (Jesus) said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the headwaiter.” And they took it to him.

 Now, vs. 9: And when the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew) the headwaiter called the bridegroom; 10 and said to Him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when men have drunk freely, then that which is poorer, you have kept the good wine until now.”

But in this instance, there are no grapes; no vines; no seeds; no sunlight; no earth; there is no crushing or straining; there is nothing but pots of water.

And you have these people who are completely disinterested eyewitnesses of that has just taken place; and they could have come back and said, “This is a lie. It didn’t happen!”; but they didn’t.

So you have this testimony of a creative miracle coming from the mouth of people who have no stake in trying to prove anything about Jesus.

 Now, let me separate you all in three groups. You will be in one of these three groups.

In vs. 11 it says that “His disciples believed in Him.” That is group number one.

Look at John 12:37: Though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him.” This is group number 2.

And then there is group number 3. In John 12:42: Nevertheless, many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue, 43 for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.

 Everyone of us is in one of these three groups; We either believe; or we don’t believe; or we are not willing to pay the price to trust in Christ.

 

 

 

 

© Sunset Ridge Church of Christ 2023