“The Way, the Truth, and The Life” - 2024 West Branch Baccalaureate

“The Way, the Truth, and The Life”

2024 West Branch Baccalaureate

John 14:6 :: May 28, 2024

Congratulations to The West Branch Class of 2024!

It is a joy and privilege to speak to you this evening.

It’s a joy because I’ve been watching this class grow up for the last 18 years! I’ve been around a while. I actually remember when some of your parents graduated from West Branch! In fact, I remember when your principal graduated from High School! Yes, I’m that old.

So I remember when you were all born and when you first entered school. I’ve watched you play West Branch sports and do West Branch dramas and perform West Branch concerts. I’ve had my pastoral eye on you all, and it’s a joy to be present as you pass this key milestone in your personal journeys.

And it’s a privilege because I get to talk to you tonight about my King–the Lord Jesus Christ.

He is the most amazing Person Who ever lived. He’s the most compelling figure in human history. He’s the central subject in the library of books bound together we call the Bible.

The church family that I get to shepherd, Lanse Free Church, provided every senior with a copy of a short biography of Jesus written by one of His closest friends and followers, a man named John. We call it, “The Gospel According to John,” and that’s the document from which Kevin read to us this evening. 

Our church family has been studying the Gospel According to John together closely for the last 10 months, so Kevin, Addison, and Zane have been listening to the Gospel of John quite a lot. We actually just studied chapter 13 two days ago. You can watch it on YouTube if you’re interested.

Next time I get to teach, we will be studying this particular passage in chapter 14, so thank you for helping me cram for my next lesson!

In the passage that Kevin just read to us, the author John recounts an interaction he witnessed between Jesus and one of his other followers, a man named Thomas. This interaction occurred on the night before Jesus was arrested and killed.

Jesus was meeting in secret with His closest friends, and had just told them that He was going away.

You see, Jesus knew was going to happen to Him in just few short hours. Jesus knew that He was going to be betrayed by a close friend, that He was going to be arrested by the Romans, that He was going to be put on trial in a mockery of justice, that He was going to be mocked and beaten and scourged and crucified. Do you know what that means? It means a human being nailed to a pole and hoisted up in the air to die of blood-loss and asphyxiation, in total shame.

Jesus knew all of that was coming, and He was trying to prepare His friends for that by telling them that He was going away but that they knew the way to the place where He was going.

And, of course, all of that was troubling to them to hear! And so confusing. So, his friend Thomas says to Jesus, “We don't know where you're going. How can we know the way?”

And Jesus answered with one of the most amazing statements ever uttered in human history, that is what we might call, “Big, if true.” It’s verse 6 of John chapter 14. That’s what I want to talk to you about this evening. 

“Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

Jesus has a way of making everything about Himself.

Which, when other people do that, can be really annoying, right? Who likes it when you’re talking with somebody, and they keep bringing the subject of the conversation back to them? Like the guy who has top every story with, “Oh that’s nothing. I once did something like that but much bigger.” You know what I mean? Or people who present themselves as the answer to everyone’s problems. Politicians do that all of the time. “Vote me for me! I can solve everything.” 

So we often can turned off by someone who keeps making everything about themselves.

Except, if it’s true.

If everything is about Some One Person, then it’s really important for us all to know it. And to know Him.

Our church family has been reading this book, and we’ve noticed that Jesus keeps making everything about Himself. He has all of these “I Am” statements in this books. At least seven of them where He says, “I am” and then makes a bold audacious claim.

He says, “I am the Bread of Life.” 

He says, “I am the Light of the World.”

He says, “I am the Gate for the Sheep.”

He says, “I am the Good Shepherd.”

He says, “I am the Resurrection and the Life.”

And after this one, He has one more. He is going to say, “I am the True Vine.”

This is the sixth one in the Gospel According to John. Here, He says:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Big, if true. And I believe that it is true.

Way, Truth, Life. That’s more than just the call letters to a radio station. That’s everything isn’t it? Jesus is claiming to be the key to everything. 

Notice that He does not say, “I know the way to everything. I know the truth of everything. I know where life is found.” That’s right, but that’s not what He is saying.

He is saying that He personally is the way, the truth, and the life. And that we have to know and trust Him to get to the Father.

That’s another mind-blowing thing that Jesus has been saying all throughout this little book. He says that God is His Father. That He stands in an unique relationship to God. So that God is His Father in such a way that Jesus turns out to be God, as well. That God is Triune. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. Three in One. And that if you want to get to God the Father, the you have to go through God the Son, through Himself.

Wow! That’s a very exclusive claim, isn’t it? “No one comes to the Father except through me.”

That could be offensive...unless it’s true. We don’t get offended if Mr. Hughes tells us that 2+2=4.

“Well, that’s the not only way of thinking about that, right? I want 2+2 to equal 5. Let’s not be so exclusive here.”

So, we shouldn’t be surprised or offended to learn how the world truly is and Who Jesus truly is.

He is the way, the truth, and the life.

Let’s start with The Way.  That word “way” means the “road” or the “path.” Like “Allport Cutoff.” That’s the way we all got here today. We all took the Cutoff. That was our “way.”

The Class of ‘24 is on your way. You are on your path. And you are all going to find your way, the path from West Branch into all kinds of places. “O, the places you will go!” And, O, the ways that you will get there!

And Jesus says in an ultimate sense He is the Way. He is the Path. He is the Road to get to God and to get to truth, and to get true life. Jesus is the Cutoff. You can’t get where you really want to go unless you take Him. You see, He doesn’t just give you the map. He is the Map. And, in fact, He is the road.

Imagine for a second if you got lost out in Pinchy. Good old Pinchatolee. Easy to do. Cell service is bad out there in the woods. Maybe your four-wheeler broke down, and you aren’t sure where you actually were, and you found a dirt road and you’re seeing where it will take you.

And Kevin Hurley drives up in that big truck of his. And he rolls down the window and says, “Do you need help?” And you admit to him that you got lost and you could use some directions.

And Kevin (who’s a big talker, we all know) says, “I could do that. I could tell you how to get to Kylertown or wherever. But I could also just take you. Hop up here, and I’ll get you home.”

If that happened, then Kevin would be your “way.” Right? Not just the map but the transportation. Your ride.

That’s what Jesus is saying about Himself! But He’s not just getting you to Kylertown. He’s getting you to God the Father Himself. And He says that are not many paths to get there. There’s just one. And it’s Him. So we need to follow and trust in Him. He’s our ride.

And He is The Truth. That means that He is ultimate reality. He is the way things really are. That’s quite a claim, isn’t it?

I hope that you have learned a lot of truth here at West Branch over the years. And how to discover what the truth is.

The scientific method, for example, for understand the laws of nature. The tools of historical research to find out what happened in the past. The fundamental rules of mathematics. And even deeper truths that you can only discover through literature and the arts.

Jesus says that when you get the bottom of all meaning and all truth, you find Him there. And He will show what is truly true. In fact, He will show you God Himself. Because He is God Himself.

In very next sentence, Jesus said, “If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him (John 14:7). There is nothing more true than that!

And He also says that He is “The Life.” Not just that He knows all about life or knows where life is. But that He is where life is. And He is what life is all about. And that He is the true source of true life. You aren’t really living unless you have Him. And if you want to live forever, you need Him.

That’s how big He goes here!

You see, Jesus is not just inspiring. I would hate if you came to your Baccalaureate and you just heard that Jesus is really inspiring. And you should find your inspiration in Him. No, Jesus is The Life. And you should make your life about Him. And you should find your life in Him.

That’s why He came. That’s why He was sent. The most famous sentence in the Gospel of John isn’t this one in chapter 14, it’s this one in chapter 3, verse 16.

“For God so loved the world [that’s you and me] that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16 NIVO).

God the Father gave His Son, Jesus, so that if we believe in Him, we get eternal life. Because He is The Life.

Big, if true! And I believe it is.

In turns out, that we get this life because of His death. Jesus knew what was coming for Him in just a few short hours. The pain, the shame, the torture, the death. The Bible says that He went through all that because He was taking on our sin for us. The way He became the way was through the Cross. The truth is that He became sin for us and bore the penalty for our sins (2 see Corinthians 5:21). And it was through His death that we get life.

Because He came back to life. Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead. That’s in chapter 20 of the Gospel According to John. Check it out for yourself. He was so much “The Life” that He couldn’t stay dead!

And what’s even more amazing is that He offers Himself to us all today. You see the annoying people who make everything about themselves, are normally looking out for themselves, too. But Jesus gives Himself to all who will come to Him. He is all of this. The Way, the Truth, and the Life. And He offers all of that to us if we will put our trust and faith in Him.

It is an exclusive offer. “No one comes to the Father except through me.” But we can all be included in this exclusive offer. Everyone who comes through Jesus gets to the Father.

Jesus makes everything about Himself because everything is about Him!

He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Do you believe that? I don’t expect that everyone here is there yet. But everyone here is invited to hop on for the ride.

West Branch Class of ‘24, may the Lord bless you in all of your future endeavors. 

We shall be watching to see all of the amazing places you go and all of the amazing things you do as you drive off from 444 Allport Cutoff. 

But wherever you go and whatever you do, you’ve got to decide for yourself whether or not you believe what Jesus told Thomas on that fateful night.

“Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

***

Previous West Branch Baccalaureate Messages

June 2, 2005 "Don't Waste Your Life"

June 7, 2012 "Three Things I Pray"

May 31, 2020 "Certainties"

Read More

“I Am Telling You Now Before It Happens” [Matt's Messages]

“I Am Telling You Now Before It Happens”

Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of John

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

May 26, 2024 :: John 13:18-38  

Jesus knew. 

Jesus knew what was going to happen to Him that very night.

We talked about this the last few times. John chapter 13 begins with the wordsJohn chapter 13 begins with the words, “Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love” (13:1). And He washed their feet.

Verse 3 says, “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God” (13:3).

Jesus knew!

John the gospel-writer wants to us know that Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen to Him that dark night before His death. None of this was a surprise, and in fact, all of this was a part of the plan. Jesus was choosing all of this. He was going into it with open eyes.

And verse 19 says that Jesus not only knew what was going to happen, but Jesus told His disciples what was going to happen ahead of time.  Look at verse 19, where our title for today’s message comes from. Verse 19.

“I am telling you now before it happens so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He.”

Jesus knew the future, and He predicted the future so that His disciples might believe. There’s that word again! Jesus is always working to build our faith in Him. Believe!

Knowing the future should make a big difference, shouldn’t it? Our graduating seniors have made some big plans for their futures. You can read about their accomplishments and their hopes for the future in the back  of your bulletin. And it’s exciting to see what might be!

But they don’t know exactly what will happen to them. They don’t know the future. And they probably understand that better than many of the rest of us did when we graduated because these seniors were freshmen in 2020 when covid hit and upended all of our lives so unexpectedly. They know that they don’t know the future.

But Jesus did know the future. He knew the details. And He told His disciples some of the dark details before it happened. So that they would file it away and when it came pass exactly as Jesus said, they were not thrown for a loop but instead believed.

“I am telling you now before it happens so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He.”

Those last words are “ego eimi” in the Greek, “I am” which has, as we’ve seen before (8:24, 8:28, 8:588:58) a least hints of Jesus’ divinity. He is the I Am. He is all that He claimed to be.

And because He accurately predicted the future, His disciples would believe in Him.

In today’s passage, I see at least four things that Jesus predicted were going to happen to Him that should build our faith and direct our steps in 2024. Four things Jesus knew and told His disciples in advance that make all of the difference for us today. Here’s the first one. “I’m telling you now before it happens...”

#1. I WILL BE BETRAYED.

What a terrible thing to know was coming.

Again, this is the very night before His crucifixion. Jesus and his twelve hand-picked disciples are having an intimate dinner together in the upper room of a home in Jerusalem. They are reclining around a low table in the center of the room like spokes on a wheel. And Jesus has just gotten up, dressed down like a slave, and washed and dried all 24 of their stinky feet. Shocking!

Everybody is unsettled. There is tension in the room. Outside of the four walls, there were people that hated Jesus and wanted Him dead. Inside of the room, there was an agent of Satan at the table with our Savior.

The other disciples didn’t know that, but Jesus knew.

He has just told them that not all of them are clean. Their feet are all clean, but one of their hearts has not been washed. They were going to be blessed if they washed feet like He did. But not all of them will be blessed. Look at verse 18.

“‘I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: 'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.'”

That’s Psalm 41. I call it the “The Song of the Sick King.” It was written by King David one thousand years earlier when David had been personally betrayed by an intimate friend. And that set up a predictive pattern that was going to be repeated and fulfilled in Great David’s Greatest Son. 

Jesus would be betrayed by an intimate friend. Somebody He had eaten with in close fellowship was going to turn his heel towards Jesus as he walked out on him or even raised up his heel to stomp on Jesus as he betrayed Him.

This was going to shock his disciples, but it did not shock Jesus. He knew. And He wanted them to know He knew. Verse 19.

“‘I am telling you now before [this stomping] happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He. I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.’”

That’s what’s really important. To believe. To accept or receive Jesus. Because then you get Jesus and you get God the Father who sent His Son!

What’s important is receiving Jesus by faith (John 1:12!). But not everybody does. And don’t be surprised by that.

In just a few short hours, everything is going to seem to fall apart. It’s going to feel like the world is ending. But the opposite is actually true. Things are proceeding according to plan.  Things predicted a thousand years before are coming together on that dark night so that the plan is on track.

It is going to be terrible! Look and see how it makes Jesus feel. Look at verse 21. 

“After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, ‘I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.’”

We’ve seen this language of “troubled in spirit” before. That’s how Jesus felt at the tomb of Lazarus. When His friend had died. Remember how He cried? “Jesus wept.” 

That’s how Jesus is feeling about what is going to happen to Him. He’s not stoic about this betrayal. He’s not like, “Whatever. I didn’t care anyway.” This guts Him. This bothers Him. This hurts Him. He just washed their feet! And now He says, “I’ve gotta tell you guys something. One of you is going to betray me.” It troubles Jesus, but it does not surprise Him.

It does surprise His disciples. Look at verse 22. 

“His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. [“I’ve got no idea. Who would do that?” V.23] One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, ‘Ask him which one he means.’ Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, ‘Lord, who is it?’”

I love the vivid details of this story. How they stare at one another. Everybody is looking at everybody else, and nobody has a clue (except Jesus, and Judas of course).

And John calls one of them, “the disciple whom Jesus loved” which is a beautiful description of how he felt. He just felt so loved by Jesus. Of course, Jesus loved all of them (v.1 said so), but this one disciple felt particularly beloved, a special bond. And we will find out later which one He was (hint, his named begins with J-O-H-N).

He’s on the cot right next to Jesus, and Simon Peter gives him the little nod. You know how men talk to each other in nods? Peter gives him the nod. “Ask [Jesus] which one he means.”

And the beloved disciples leans back against Jesus so they are really close and basically whispering to each other, “Lord, who is it?” Verse 26.

“Jesus answered, ‘It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.’ Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon.” 

Jesus knows.

And now the beloved disciple knows. Nobody else knows, not yet. Everybody else assumes it can’t be Judas because he was just honored by the Master by being hand-fed the sop by Jesus Himself. But Jesus knows. 

And just as the bread entered Judas, so did Satan. V.27

“As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.”

What a terrible thing to read. What a terrible to know.

This disciple of Jesus was now fully a disciple of Satan and was going to return that very night with a detachment of soldiers to arrest our Lord.

You see, Judas did not surprise Jesus.

If anything, Jesus surprised Judas! Because look what He says to him. Verse 27.

‘What you are about to do, do quickly,’ Jesus told him, but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor. [Remember Judas earlier this week had made a big deal about selling the perfume to help the poor. What a champion of the poor! No, he was a champion of himself. But only Jesus knew it. So he sent him on his way. V.30] As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night” (vv.27-30).

It sure was.

What an ominous note. Things were dark. Things were bleak. Jesus was going to be betrayed by an intimate friend. But He was not going to be surprised. And He told them in advance, so they would, in time, believe.

I think this is helpful for us in many ways. First of all, just that Jesus knows what it’s like to be betrayed. If you have never been betrayed, just wait. It will probably happen to you. And when it does, it will hurt a lot.

Jesus understands what that feels like. He lived it out like nobody else ever has. He even knew in advance that it was happening, and He couldn’t (or wouldn’t) stop it from happening, but it was part of what had to happen for Him to fulfill the Father’s mission for Him and to save us from our sins. So He knows what it’s like. He can sympathize and walk alongside you as you go through the pain of betrayal yourself.

I think it’s also helpful because it reminds us that God’s plan is still on track even when it feels like it’s going off the rails. When the disciples find out that Judas–the guy they trusted with their money!–has sold out Jesus, they will be tempted to despair and to think that everything is lost. It was night-time for the disciples in every way. So so dark. And yet the Light of the World shines in the darkness!

Heather and I have some very close friends who are going through a very dark thing right now. And sometimes all I can say as we walk with them is, “The Lord knows.” 

“The Lord knows.” And we know He knows because He told us before it happens.

It was night time, but the light shines brightest in the darkness. And that’s what He tells them next. “I am telling you now before it happens...”

#2. I WILL BE GLORIFIED.

Verse 31. “When he was gone, Jesus said, ‘Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once” (v.31-32).

Judas leaves the room, and the temperature changes. It’s just Jesus and the Eleven now. And Jesus can open Himself up even more. The teaching will go deeper than it ever has. And Jesus says that it’s time for Him (not only to be betrayed but) to be glorified. And to be glorified by being betrayed!

This glorification comes through His crucifixion. Remember, He is going to be lifted up. Lifted up on a pole! Like a snake in the wilderness. But lifted up! Glorified. Bringing glory to Himself and to His Father. By completing the deadly mission on which He was sent.

Do you see the circle of glorification?

“Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.”

The Son gets the glory.

The Father gets the glory in the Son.

The Son gets the glory in the Father.

In a perfect unending circle, and it’s all going down now!

And the darkness can’t stop it. In fact, the darkness has to enable it. The Cross is the darkest thing that ever happened in human history. And it is the brightest!

Isn’t that wonderful for us today?! Isn’t it wonderful to know that God can take the darkest night ever and make it the brightest?! That God can take the worst most bloody suffering ever and make it the greatest blessing?!

And that no matter what happens, the Son gets the glory, gives the glory to His Father, who gives the glory to the Son, gives the glory to the Father, gives the glory to the Son, (and starting in next chapter, gives the glory to the Spirit, all three in one) forever and ever and ever and ever and ever. Amen?!

He told us before it happens so that we would believe.

For the Son of Man to be glorified, He had to go away. This next portion of Scripture, from right here to the end of chapter 16, is often called “The Farewell Teaching” because Jesus begins to say, “Goodbye.” Verse 33.

“‘My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.”

He’s telling them in advance that He’s going away. He knows it, and He is telling them what to expect before it happens. And how to behave when He’s gone. Verse 34.

“‘A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another’” (vv.34-35).

I hope these words are very familiar to you. This is our theme for the year as a church family. Jenni has them on the bulletin board in the center of the foyer. We’re going to memorize them together for the next several months.

I taught on these two verses four months ago on Vision Sunday. Let’s read them together once again to remind ourselves what our Lord Jesus commands us:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Three times in two verses Jesus tells us to love one another. It must be important! 

He says it’s a “new” command. What’s new about it? God’s people have always been commanded to love. The Israelites were supposed to love their neighbors (Leviticus 19:18). But this says to love one another. So it’s a command to love our fellow disciples, our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. 

But I think the real newness is not so much who to love but how to love. We are now being called to love (v.34) as Jesus has loved us. There’s a new standard. As the choir just sang, we love because he first loved us.

Jesus has shown us how to love one another. And it is a high standard that involves going low. Just minutes before this, Jesus had gone around the circle washing their feet. He showed them how to love by serving them in humility.

Love isn’t just words or feelings. It’s actions. It’s putting someone else’s needs before your own. It’s laying down your life, often a little bit at a time. Our Lord Jesus calls us to love one another just as He has loved us. Let’s make that number three. “I am telling you now before it happens...

#3. I WILL BE IMITATED.

“You must love another as I have loved you.” It is imperative.

How are we doing at this? Let me read to you some things I said to you four months ago on January 28th because they are all still true and still needed.

On Vision Sunday, I pointed out that our church family had grown. We had been exceptionally blessed in 2023 with growth in attendance. Up 12% from the year before to an average of 142 people per Sunday. But it was more than that because the same people don’t come every Sunday. We had counted 293 different people who came at least one Sunday in 2023 and 235 people who came quite regularly.

This year, attendance has grown even more. In 2024, we are averaging about 161 people every Sunday. (Another 9% growth so far.)

And that’s wonderful, praise God! But it also means that we have to work even harder to build a loving community here, doesn’t it? Because “More people, more problems. More sinners, more sin.” Right?

“Love” sounds wonderful until you actually have to do it. 

So four months ago, we talked about doing all the “one anothers.” Right? Knowing one another (using the church directory), greeting one another (and not just our friends or the people we always greet), welcoming one another, praying for one another (maybe over the back of the pew), showing hospitality to one another, eating with one another, forgiving one another, bearing with and being patient with one another, exhorting one another, speaking the truth to one another.

That’s hard work! How are we doing at all of that as a church family in 2024? This is a good time to check in and take our own pulse.

How are we doing at loving one another as Jesus loved us?

How are you doing at that? 

What is going well?

What do you need to change?

Because the world desperately needs to see us imitate our Lord in this way!

On January 28th, I said this:

“We get to love another in ‘24. And when we do, the world will have to sit up and take notice.

There is a great need and opportunity for Christian love in our nation and world right now.

I don’t know whether you’ve noticed it or not, but it looks like it’s another national election year in America. [I thought we just did that!]

And it looks downright divisive once again. Will those [who] name the name of Christ be known for their love in 2024?

We have in this room Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and Non-Voters–all Christians. We will love one another in ‘24?

Will the world see the Christians loving each other [and] say to themselves, “What is going on over there? I want some of that. Those people are really different from one another. And they disagree. Maybe strongly. And yet they obviously are loving one another.”

...

There is an epidemic of loneliness in our society right now. There’s all kinds of causes for that. But whatever they are, it’s out there.

People are lonely.

They may be “connected,” through social media, to more people than ever but they feel disconnected. They feel alone.

What an opportunity we have to BE FAMILY for those folks!

So that we can all sing, “I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God.”

As we enfold people into our church family, we are honoring Jesus.

We are acting as His disciples. ‘By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’

By this! Not by what we proclaim about ourselves on our social media.

Not by our bumper stickers. But by how we treat one another.

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

That’s what I said on January 28th. How are we doing at this on May 26th? How are we doing at imitating our Lord?

If somebody looked at your life today, would they say, “Wow. That guy, that gal, sure is loving? They sure know how to serve their fellow Christians. They have picked up their basin and their towel. They sure act like Jesus.”

Let me just say, as your pastor, that I am very proud of you in this way. I see this as a very loving church family, and I see you stepping up to obey this new command every single day, especially when we gather together on Sundays.

Don’t stop. Don’t coast. We have much work to be done. Love does not come easy. It is hard work to do the “one-anothers.” But we are at it. I am so proud to be the pastor of Lanse Free Church. There is no other church family that I love more.

I believe the world can look at this bunch here and say, “They are Jesus’ disciples. Look at how they love one another.” Thank you. Well done, you.

Tomorrow, on Memorial Day, we will stop what we’re doing and thank God for those who acted like Jesus (whether they knew it or not) and gave their lives for others. Those servicemen and women served our nation by laying down their lives for their countrymen.

How are you and I each doing at laying down our lives for one another in the family of God? Love is supposed to be the distinguishing mark of the Christian. Verse 35. 

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Jesus says, “I will be imitated.”

And that extends even to our following Him in death. Point number four. “I am telling you now before it happens...”

#4. I WILL BE FOLLOWED.

But not at first. Jesus’ disciple, Peter, has missed what Jesus was saying about all this love stuff, because he got stuck on what Jesus had said in verse 33.

“You’re going away?” Verse 36. “Simon Peter asked him, ‘Lord, where are you going?’ Jesus replied, ‘Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.’ Peter asked, ‘Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.’ Then Jesus answered, ‘Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!” (vv.36-38).

Jesus knew. Jesus knew that He was going to be betrayed. And He knew that He was going to be denied. He was going to be disowned by Peter himself. Three times before the rooster was done crowing, this coming morning!

Peter had way too high an estimation of himself. His instincts were good. He wanted the right thing at that moment. But his self-confidence was too high. “Oh yeah, I’ll do that.”

Jesus knew that Peter was not going to lay down his life for Jesus. It was the other way around. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, was going to lay down his life for Peter. And for you and me.

Have you put your faith in what Jesus did for you on that Cross?

Jesus knew what was going to happen in just a few hours. He was going to lay down his life for our sins. And then in three days, He was going to take it back up again to give us life forever.

Jesus knew that Peter was not going to follow Him that day. But He says in verse 36 that, one day, Peter would follow Him. Peter will get a chance, down the line, to put his life down on the line for Jesus. He will follow Jesus. Because Peter will believe in who Jesus truly is. Jesus told us this now before it happens, so that when it does happen, we will believe.

Kailyn, Kevin, Zane, Addison, on this Graduation Sunday, here’s my pastoral counsel for you. (And it’s true for all of us here today, as well.)

Believe in Jesus! Believe that He is all that He said that He was. Because He obviously knew the future. He knew Who He was. And He knew what was going happen to Him.

He was going to be betrayed.

He was going to be denied and disowned.

He was going to be crucified.

He was going to be glorified!

And because of His sacrifice, we can be saved. And we can love one another. We can love like He loved. Painfully. Love is painful. If we are doing it right, it will sometimes hurt. It will sometimes feel like death. It will sometimes actually be our death to love one another. But it will be worth it all because the whole world will know that we are Jesus’ disciples if we love one another.

And follow Jesus even to death.

Because He is worth it.

His plan was not derailed.

His death was not the end.

The darkness did not win.

The Son of Man was glorified and God is glorified in Him. We believe!

***

Messages in this Series

01. "That You May Believe" - John 20:30-31
02. "In The Beginning Was the Word" - John 1:1-18
03. "John's Testimony" - John 1:19-34
04. "Come and See" - John 1:35-51
05. "The First of His Miraculous Signs" - John 2:1-11
06. "This Temple" - John 2:12-25
07. "You Must Be Born Again" - John 3:1-15
08. "God So Loved The World" - John 3:16-21
09. "Above All" - John 3:22-36
10. "Living Water" - John 4:1-26
11. "Ripe for the Harvest" - John 4:27-42
12. "Your Son Will Live" - John 4:43-54
13. "Pick Up Your Mat and Walk" - John 5:1-18
14. "To Your Amazement" - John 5:19-30
15. "Testimony About Me" - John 5:31-47
Christmas Eve Bonus: "The Astonishing Gift" - John 3:16 Again
Christmas Eve Bonus: "We Have Seen His Glory" - John 1:1-18 Again
16. "Enough Bread" - John 6:1-15
17. "You Are Looking for Me" - John 6:16-36
18. "I Am the Bread of Life" - John 6:35-71
Vision Meeting Bonus: "As I Have Loved You" - John 13:34-35
19. "At the Feast" - John 7:1-52
20. "I Am the Light of the World" - John 8:12-30
21. "Your Father" - John 8:31-59
22. "Now I See" - John 9:1-41
23. "I Am The Gate" - John 10:1-13
24. "I Am the Good Shepherd" - John 10:14-21
25. "I And The Father Are One" - John 10:22-42
26. "I Am the Resurrection and the Life" - John 11:1-53
27. "Expensive" - John 11:54-12:11
28. "The Hour Has Come" - John 12:12-26
29. "Father, Glorify Your Name!" - John 12:27-36
30. "Believe In Me" - John 12:37-50

31. "Do You Understand What I Have Done For You?" - John 13:1-17

2024 West Branch Baccalaureate: "The Way, The Truth, and The Life" - John 14:6

Read More

“Do You Understand What I Have Done For You?” [Matt's Messages]

“Do You Understand What I Have Done For You?”

Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of John

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

May 19, 2024 :: John 13:1-17  

This never happens.

This sort of thing never happened back in the ancient world.

This foot-washing story, was astonishing to the first readers of John’s Gospel. It was astonishing to the people who lived in the story! The Apostle John was blown away by what he saw Jesus doing...and felt doing to him.

This never happens. I read this week that there are NO instances–no instances–in Jewish, Greek, or Roman historical sources of a superior washing the feet of a subordinate. None. This never happens.

And yet it happened that night.

We have reached the section of the gospel of John that is often called the Upper Room Teaching or the Farewell Discourse. It’s that last night before Jesus went to the Cross. And it was emblazoned upon John’s mind. John is going to give this one night five or six whole chapters in his 21 chapter book. Chapter 13 to set the stage. Chapters 14, 15, 16, and 17 to share Jesus’ deepest teaching and longest recorded prayer. And then the arrest and the trial and everything leading up to the crucifixion the next day. We’re going to be meditating upon this night for several months as a church family.

John just couldn’t get over it. And he wanted to make sure that we heard about it and that we understood what was going on. So he gave us these words in chapter 13. Let’s look at them together. Look at verse 1. John sets the stage. Verse 1.

“It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.”

Do you feel how weighty this is?

Notice the words, “Jesus knew.” That’s important. Everything that is happening in this story is something that Jesus knew about ahead of time. None of this is taking Jesus by surprise. We are shocked, they are shocked, but Jesus is not.

In fact, He’s choosing all of this. Like we said last week, it’s all going according to plan.

Jesus knew. What did He know? “Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.”

Like we saw in the last chapter, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (Jn. 12:23 NIVO).

Jesus knows Who is, where He’s from, and where He’s going. And He knows how He’s getting there. He knows about the Cross, and He is choosing it out of love. Verse 1 again.

“Having loved his own [His own people, His own disciples, His own sheep] who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.”

Literally, “He loved them to the end.” Which has all of the ambiguities in Greek that it has in English. He loved them to the uttermost. He loved them to His own end. His own death.

Do you feel what John was feeling when he reflected on what was happening on that dark night? It was all going down. Everything was coming to a head. Jesus loved His people, and now He was going to show them just how much He loved them.

And He was going to start with a little human object lesson. Look at verse 2.

“The evening meal was being served [I think that’s what we call the Last Supper], and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.”

That’s a key piece of information that John knew only later. But Jesus already knew it at this time. There is an agent of Satan at this Table with our Savior. Jesus knows that. He also knows that it’s His time to go. Look what else He knows. Verse 3.

“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;”

Think about that!! Jesus knows that He is in ultimate control. He knows that He has all authority. He knows that He has come from God and was returning to God.

What would you do if you were in that position?!

I would blast Judas right out of that room!

I would call in 10,000 angels for back-up.

I would call down fire on the Pharisees.

I would start barking orders.

I would call for a foot massage and for my throne to be set up and then ascend upon it.

And Jesus could have, rightly, done any of that. But He did the exact opposite! And what He did was burned into John’s memory. Look at verse 4.

“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him” (vv.4-5).

That just never happens. In the Greek, John uses the present tense so that it’s like a video, and you see Him doing each thing in your mind as it’s happening.

Jesus gets up from the meal.

Remember, they normally reclined at a common table in the center of a circle, and they come out like spokes on a wheel from the table as the hub. So all of their feet are on the outside. 

And, apparently, nobody has washed them. Normally, you would wash before coming to a dinner like this and then when you reached the dinner, a slave would wash off the dirt and grime and dust that came from the roads.

People’s feet could be really yucky in just a short amount of time. First off, at best they had sandals and many of them were often barefoot. And second, remember they had dirt roads, lived with animals, and had no plumbing. You don’t want to know what was often on their feet! 

How do you feel about feet? Some people think that feet are really ugly and gross, and they don’t want to think about feet. Maybe I should kick my shoes off and preach this sermon barefoot. What do you think? Do you think you could concentrate if I did that?

Feet can be really smelly. I’m sure these were really smelly. Somebody should have washed them. But nobody was willing to do it! 

Because that was seen as the lowest job there ever was. Get this. In Israel, it was only the Gentile slaves that had to do this job. If you were a Hebrew, a Jewish slave, you did not have to wash even your master’s feet, much less their guests’ feet.

But Jesus gets up from the meal, and he takes off His outer clothing, and He wraps a towel around His waist.

He’s dressing up like a slave! Everybody’s like, “What’s going on? What’s He doing?”

And then He gets a bucket with water in it. He pours water into a basin, and begins to go around the outside of the circle washing His disciple’s feet.

Do you see it in your head?

Jesus is kneeling at the feet of His disciples.

Is that right?! Can that be right? They should be kneeling before Him, right?

But He is kneeling before them. And he’s washing their feet. 

Have you ever had your feet washed by someone else? It can be really ticklish. It feels very intimate. Very vulnerable. Those are tender moments.

Our Lord, Who knew that He was about to die, Who knew that the Father had put all things under His power, was using this moment to act like a servant and wash and dry and wash and dry and wash and towel-off His disciples’ dirty feet.

John could hardly believe this was happening and could never forget it. And Peter couldn’t believe it either. In fact, he was sure it was wrong! Look at verse 6.

“He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’”

“You?!?!” Peter is stunned. “This can’t be right.” Servants wash the feet of lords. “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

Can you feel how confused he is? Jesus says, “Don’t worry. You will ‘get this’ later.” Verse 7.

“Jesus replied, ‘You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’”

“I know it’s confusing, Pete, but give it time. All things will become clear. Roll with me now.” Verse 8.

“‘No,’ said Peter, ‘you shall never wash my feet.’”

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Steady now, son. That’s probably not a good thing to ever say to your Lord. I appreciate your honesty and your zeal, but we should never be saying, “No” to Jesus. I know you think you’re being humble, but there is a kind of humility that is actually proud. [This insight was gained from D.A. Carson.] Verse 9.

“Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.’”

“If you are going to be my disciple, then you have to allow me to serve you.”

Isn’t that amazing?! Christianity is so different from every other religion on the planet. Because at the center of our faith is a Serving Savior. A King Who came to serve His people. The other religions of the world say that we must do something for the god at the center of them. “We must serve the gods!” But Christianity says that the God at the center of our faith became one of us and then...served us. And we have to let Him serve us or we have no part in Him. 

Jesus was showing His great love to those who belong to Him. And if Peter was not going to receive Jesus’ love, then He would not belong to Jesus.

“Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

And so, classic Peter, verse 9.

“‘Then, Lord,’ Simon Peter replied, ‘not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!’”

“Give me the whole bath! Scrub me up because I want to belong to you!”

Gotta love Peter! I think Jesus is probably chuckling as He begins to say verse 10.

“Jesus answered, ‘A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.’ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean” (vv.10-11).

Jesus tells Peter that he doesn’t need a full bath because everybody who belongs to Jesus is clean–though not everybody at that table truly belonged to Jesus.  This was just a symbol of cleansing. Not the full cleansing itself.  

And Jesus washed the feet of a person at that table who was not cleansed. And Jesus knew it. Jesus knew that Judas was going to betray Him. What must that have felt like as He took Judas’ feet in His hands and washed them with water and dried them with the towel around His waist? I can’t imagine. And John almost couldn’t believe His eyes.

And then it was over. Jesus had washed their 24 stinky feet and was taking off His servant outfit and putting back on His dinner clothes and reclining back at His place. And what did it all mean? Verse 12.

“When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ he asked them.”

“Do you get it? You just saw something happen that never happens. Do you understand what you just saw? What you just felt? Everybody feel how clean your feet are? Everybody remember what it looked like for your Lord and Rabbi to have knelt behind you and cleaned the muck off your feet?”

“Do you understand what I have done for you?”

I think the answer must have been, “No.” That’s why Jesus told Peter in verse 7 that they would understand later. Probably much later. After the crucifixion, after the resurrection, after the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost [See John 16:13].

They didn’t get it right then. It had to sink in.

But do we get it? We are on the other side of the crucifixion, the resurrection, the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost, and the writing of the Gospel of John. Do we understand what Jesus did for us?

I’ve got two points today to summarize what I think Jesus wanted them to understand from this astonishing object lesson, and here’s number one:

#1. I HAVE WASHED YOU CLEAN.

All of this was a picture of the gospel. All of this was a dramatic enactment of what Jesus was doing to save them. Do you see that?

Verse 1, “He now showed them the full extent of his love.”

And He gets up from table, leaving His rightful place. Like He left heaven. And takes off his outer garments like He laid aside His glory.

And He took on the form a servant. Remember how Paul said it in Philippians chapter 2?

“Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped [held onto], but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death–even death on a cross!” (Phil. 2:5-8 NIVO).

Jesus was the Servant predicted by the prophet Isaiah. We read that in Isaiah 53 last Sunday. 

“[The Servant] was pierced for our transgressions, [the Servant] was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isa. 53:5 NIVO).

And we are cleansed. He did all of that for us. And we have to receive it. We have to let Him save us.  

Just like Peter had to let Him wash him, we have to allow Jesus to wash (not just our grimy feet) but our sin-stained souls.

Have you done that? Have you allowed Jesus to wash you clean, spiritually?

Judas did not. Judas had traveled with Jesus for 3 years and was never truly converted. In the end, Judas not only betrayed Him, but he rejected Jesus.

Remember how John said it in the very first chapter? “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. [Light of the World!] He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (Jn. 1:9-12 NIVO).

Have you received Him? If you have, then you are clean!  Isn’t that wonderful? Jesus says over you, “I have washed you clean.” Do you know that? Do you understand what Jesus has done for you? He has taken away your sin. He scrubbed it off. It does not cling to you any more. He took your sin on Himself and washed it off, not just with the water, but the cleansing power of His own blood.

The Apostle Paul said it this way to his friend Titus:

“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done [We didn’t clean ourselves up!], but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life” (Tit. 3:3-7 NIVO).

That’s what He has done for us, brothers and sisters. Jesus says, “I have washed you clean.” Do you understand?

And, of course, it’s more than that. Jesus had another purpose for this little drama He acted out. He told His disciples that He was doing it to be a model for them of how to serve each other.

#2. I HAVE SHOWN YOU HOW TO SERVE.

Look what He goes on to say in verse 13.

‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ he asked them. ‘You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them” (vv.13-17).

I think it’s fascinating that He doesn’t tell them that now that He has washed their feet, they need to wash His feet.

It’s not youscratchmybackIscratchyours, is it? No, it’s not “quid pro quo.” It’s "I have shown you how to serve one another." Especially those who may be under you!

He says (v.13), “You call me, ‘Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am.”

Notice that Jesus doesn’t stop being the teacher or the Lord. He still has authority. His is still the rabbi, and He’s still the master. He’s still the top dog. But He doesn’t act like the top dog here. The top dog takes the bottom spot.

“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.”

What does that mean? Does He mean literally? Everybody take off your shoes! Wait. Hold onto that.

I think it’s fine to do it literally. I have done it many times, and had it done to me. Footwashing is beautiful.

Here is a picture of me washing Blair Murray’s feet at Family Bible Week in 2006. We were studying this part of John in the adult class that year.

I see some familiar faces looking on: Eric, Wally, Anita, Nancy, Heather, Dawn. They have big smiles because I think Blair was being funny. Imagine that.

Blair said that nobody could touch his feet. They were too ticklish, but he let me try, and that day it worked. And it became a very solemn moment. Every footwashing service I’ve ever been in has grown serious and weighty and meaningful. Normally there are tears and deep prayers.

But I don’t think that Jesus was just setting up another ticklish thing for us all to act out.

Jesus was saying that we need to act like servants of one another. We need to swallow our pride and set aside our reputations and serve one another in love. Jesus has shown us how it’s done. And if Jesus could do it, then obviously we can and should!

Verse 15 again. “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.”

In other words, if you aren’t willing to serve other Christians like this, then who do you think you are?

If the Lord of the universe will wash feet, then who do we think we are if we are unwilling to kneel before other Christians and serve them in love?

There is no excuse for refusing to serve others out of pride or reputation.

“Oh, I’m the pastor. I don’t do that.”

“Oh, I’m the husband. I don’t serve my wife. She makes me a sandwich.”

“Oh, I’m the boss at work. I don’t serve my employees. They work for me.”

“Oh, I’m the top dog. I don’t take the lowest place.”

Is that right? So you think you’re better than Jesus, huh?

Now, again, Jesus didn’t give up His authority. He still was Teacher and Lord for these disciples and for us. There is a legitimate use of authority in lots of situations and relationships in life. But Christians, including those in authority, are called to humble ourselves like our Lord did and serve one another in love.

 “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (v.15).

How are you doing at that? Are you a servant? How do you know? Do the people around you know that you are a servant? Do the people under you know and feel that you serve them? If you don’t know, you could ask.

I think one way to know is if it kind of seems weird. Because it’s still rare in our world today! 

Heather had a boss once that made it a point of learning and doing every job of every person under them. He was in charge of the food service at Moody Bible Institute, and he took a day to learn every position on the line. From dishwasher to server to the guy that cleared off the tables. And that has always stuck with me. He could have holed up in his office and made the big decisions. And I’m sure he needed to spend time in his office making the big decisions! But he also got out there and washed some dishes. He was washing feet.

Husbands, you have a responsibility to lead in your homes. What is the household job that your wife hates doing the most? That’s now your job. It’s not your job to make sure she gets it done. You get it done. And do it right. Don’t do it poorly so that she says, “I hate doing it, but he can’t do it right, so I’m going to do it.” And you get out of it. Even if you hate it more than she does, go wash her feet. You get the idea?

This is for church leaders. This is for parents. This is for the older kids in a family. This is for Christian friends.

Remember, this not about who deserves to have their feet washed. Which of these men deserved to have their feet washed by the Lord Jesus Christ? Don't wait until they deserve it to serve other people!

This never happens, but it should. And we should do it more and more and show the world what a difference Jesus makes.

“I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”

You know who was good at this? That guy whose feet I was washing in 2006. Many of you may not have known him, but Blair Murray was a servant. He didn’t throw around his weight. He was an elder. He had been a leader and a teacher in this church for many years. But he didn’t demand his own rights and angle for adulation. He saw people’s needs, and he humbled himself and served them like our Lord here.

How are you doing at washing feet? How do you need to change?

Do you get it? Do you understand what Jesus has done for you in setting this mindblowing example? Jesus says that if you do understand, then you will blessed if you do it. That’s the last verse for today. Verse 17.

"Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them" (v.17).

Do you want to be blessed? I want to be blessed!!! I want our church to be blessed. I want us to be deliriously happy and have every good thing given to us as a church family. And here’s the way it comes–the blessing follows the serving.

Our Challenge Crew has served this last week by cleaning out all of this stuff throughout the church and several homes. A bunch of them came this weekend and rolled up their sleeves and organized it all. And it’s there now for us to choose what we want to take home. 

Thank you, Challenge Crew, for washing our feet, so to speak. May you be blessed.

Sometimes the blessing comes quickly. I know that I am often encouraged and filled with peace and joy after I humble myself and serve someone else. Just letting go of my pride and self-importance is a blessing all by itself.

But sometimes the blessing comes later. Sometimes much later. Some of this blessing will only come when Christ returns. Our Celebration Choir has a song they want to sing about that. It’s about the blessing that comes when we see Christ. Would the choir come forward?

Because Jesus Christ is coming again. Verse 3 said that “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God...” But He also knew and is going to teach in the next chapter that He was going to return to this world one day. And then He was going to hand out all of the blessings He has promised to His children, especially as we follow His amazing example.

It will be worth it all when we see Christ.

***

Messages in this Series

01. "That You May Believe" - John 20:30-31
02. "In The Beginning Was the Word" - John 1:1-18
03. "John's Testimony" - John 1:19-34
04. "Come and See" - John 1:35-51
05. "The First of His Miraculous Signs" - John 2:1-11
06. "This Temple" - John 2:12-25
07. "You Must Be Born Again" - John 3:1-15
08. "God So Loved The World" - John 3:16-21
09. "Above All" - John 3:22-36
10. "Living Water" - John 4:1-26
11. "Ripe for the Harvest" - John 4:27-42
12. "Your Son Will Live" - John 4:43-54
13. "Pick Up Your Mat and Walk" - John 5:1-18
14. "To Your Amazement" - John 5:19-30
15. "Testimony About Me" - John 5:31-47
Christmas Eve Bonus: "The Astonishing Gift" - John 3:16 Again
Christmas Eve Bonus: "We Have Seen His Glory" - John 1:1-18 Again
16. "Enough Bread" - John 6:1-15
17. "You Are Looking for Me" - John 6:16-36
18. "I Am the Bread of Life" - John 6:35-71
Vision Meeting Bonus: "As I Have Loved You" - John 13:34-35
19. "At the Feast" - John 7:1-52
20. "I Am the Light of the World" - John 8:12-30
21. "Your Father" - John 8:31-59
22. "Now I See" - John 9:1-41
23. "I Am The Gate" - John 10:1-13
24. "I Am the Good Shepherd" - John 10:14-21
25. "I And The Father Are One" - John 10:22-42
26. "I Am the Resurrection and the Life" - John 11:1-53
27. "Expensive" - John 11:54-12:11
28. "The Hour Has Come" - John 12:12-26
29. "Father, Glorify Your Name!" - John 12:27-36

30. "Believe In Me" - John 12:37-50

Read More

“Believe in Me” [Matt's Messages]

“Believe in Me”

Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of John

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

May 12, 2024 :: John 12:37-50  

Did you notice a key word in this passage as it was read to us a minute ago?

Which word gets repeated over and over and over again?

You might miss it because it’s a word that John had already used again and again and again throughout this book.

Twenty-five years ago, when I first preached the Gospel of John, I got exasperated a few times with John for repeating this word so many times! I would come home from studying the passage for that Sunday, and Heather Joy would say, “So what did John have to say this week?”

And I would say, “He says again that we should BELIEVE.”

Did you hear that word again and again? Believe. I think it’s like eight times in these few short sentences. 

Believe. Believe.

Believe. Believe.

Believe. Believe.

Believe. Believe.

And when Jesus says it, He says, “Believe in me.”  As we’ve seen again and again, Jesus tends to make everything about Himself. He doesn’t just want us to have faith. He wants us to have faith in Him.

That’s a big deal, you know? Lots of people talk about having “faith.” Maybe they even put a yard sign out in the yard that says, “Believe!” 

But the key question is, “Believe in WHAT?” or “Believe in WHOM?” Everybody believes in something. Everybody is trusting in something or someone every single second. But Jesus invites us to trust in Him. And He also warns us that there is grave danger ahead if we do not.

This passage is both an invitation and a warning. It’s one of those passages that is easy to miss. It’s easy to just let your eyes run over it on your way to the exciting things that happen in chapter 13. But today, I want us to slow down and consider what it is saying to us right now.

This passage is a great place to stop and take a deep breath before diving into the last major section of the gospel. This is our thirtieth message in this series, and this is great place to stop and catch our breath and consider what we have seen so far.

Because this is the last chapter in John where Jesus is teaching publicly. It’s His last big invitation and warning to the general public out there.

Starting in the next chapter, Jesus is going to teach a lot more, but privately. Just to the disciples in what we often call “The Upper Room Discourse” or “The Teaching on the Night He Was Betrayed.”

And chapter 12 is kind of like a summary review of what Jesus has been saying for the first three years of His ministry and one final invitation and warning to those listening to believe in Him in that crucial last week.

It starts with something that might seem at first like a problem. Let me show you. Let’s look at verse 37. John 12:37. 

“Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.”

How does that strike you? Does that make you worry a little bit? Does that surprise you? Jesus is inviting people to put their faith in Him. He’s done it over and over again. And many have consistently said, “No thank you. I don’t think so.” They have rejected Him.

nd He’s backed up His invitations with miracles! John says, “Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.”

What’s He talking about? What miraculous signs?    [ASK CROWD.]

Water into Wine. Chapter 2.

Supernatural knowledge of the woman at the well. Chapter 4.

Healing the official’s son long distance with a word. Chapter 5. “Your son will live!”

Healing the man who was paralyzed for thirty-eight year. “Take up your mat and walk.” Chapter 5.

Feeding the 5,000 men and with their families, maybe 20,000 people! Chapter 6.

Walking on the water. Chapter 6.

Give sight to the man born blind. Chapter 9.

Raising Lazarus from the dead! Chapter 11.

Speaking directly to God, “Father, Glorify Your Name” and the Father speaking directly back in a thunderous voice, “I have glorified, and I will glorify it again.” This very chapter, chapter 12.

John says in chapter 20 that He did many other miraculous signs which are not recorded in this book (20:30).

But those are enough, right? He did all of these miraculous signs in their presence, but they still would not believe in Him. 

That sounds like a problem! Was Jesus a failure? Was His mission a failure? They should have, right? They should have believed in Him. It’s obvious, right? 

What’s wrong? There’s a part of me that starts to worry that something has gone terribly wrong with the plan here.

But John says the exact opposite. Look at verse 38.

“This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: ‘Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’ For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: ‘He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn–and I would heal them.’ Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him” (vv.38-41).

I’ve got three points of application I want to make this morning, and here’s the first one:

#1. DON’T PANIC. 

God’s plan is on track. Yes, these people should have believed in Him. They had every opportunity and every good reason to, but they rejected Him. And yet, that did not derail God’s plan. In fact, it was all part of God’s plan. Verse 38 again.

“They still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet...”

Their unbelief was a part of God’s plan from the beginning. John makes that point from two different beloved passages from the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah lived more than 700 years before Jesus was born, but he clearly got a glimpse of Jesus long before that first Christmas.

The first passage that John brings up is Isaiah 53 which everybody should know and try to memorize. Isaiah 53 is an amazing telling of the gospel more than 700 years before Jesus was born. It begins: “Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?”

The “arm of the Lord” refers to the Messiah who is being prophesied. And the question is actually a lament that so few have believed the message. And so many have rejected the Messiah.

Isaiah goes on to say:

“He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:2-12).

The rejection was part of the prediction!

(And so was the exaltation.)

But the rejection was no surprise. It was baked into the plan. John pulls out Isaiah chapter 6 to say it even more strongly.

Isaiah 6 is that picture of the heavenly holy throne room. Isaiah writes: 

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.  Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 

And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 

Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.’

Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ 

He said, ‘Go and tell this people: ‘'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed’” (Isaiah 6:1-10).

That’s the verse (v.10) that John quotes in chapter 12. 

The rejection was part of the prediction. In fact, it was part of the judgment. These people would not believe because they could not believe. And that was part of God’s judgment on them.

Now, how does that work? How is it that they are responsible for their wicked rejection of Jesus if God planned in advance for it to happen?

I don’t know. 

But John doesn’t think it’s a problem. The Bible consistently presents you and I as completely responsible for our free choices and God as fully sovereign over them, even our sinful ones.

I don’t know exactly how that works, but I’m glad it does. Because that’s what happened at the Cross, right? Sinful men put Jesus on the Cross in a sinful way. And at the very same time, God was working out His righteous plan through their sinful choices.

And that’s what saves us!

I’m not sure exactly how it all works. But I’m glad it does. 

And John doesn’t think it’s a problem. He thinks it solves a problem. Their rejection of Jesus did not create a problem. It didn’t mean that Jesus was failing was His mission. It didn’t mean that Jesus was clearly not the Messiah or they would have all believed.

It didn’t mean that everything was falling apart. There is no reason to panic. All is proceeding according to plan. 

I don’t know about you, but that is so encouraging to me. When I look out at the world and how it seems to be falling apart. And when I look out at people’s lives and see how they are falling apart. And when I see people I’m trying to share Jesus with and they don’t believe (at least yet). I am tempted to panic. And to worry that this is all wrong. And it is bad. It is trouble. It is terrible.

But that doesn’t mean that God’s plan has been thwarted. 

Not. in. the. slightest.

Now that doesn’t mean that we should just throw up our hands and stop our efforts to make the world a better place or to pray for people and situations that are falling apart or to share the gospel with those are currently rejecting Jesus. 

Just like this didn’t mean that Jesus was failing in His mission so that He should just quit and go home. But it does mean that we don’t have to worry or get scared that God’s plan is derailed and headed for the ditch. No, even the yucky stuff that happens along the way is all part of the plan.

Jesus quoted Isaiah 6:10 this way (Matthew 13:14-15). Paul quoted Isaiah 6:10 this way (Acts 28:26-27). John quotes Isaiah 6:10 this way to give us hope and reassurance that even though all is not well, all is going well.

And all is going to be well because Jesus is going to get the glory. Look at again at verse 41.

“Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him.”

Remember, Isaiah lived more than 700 years before Jesus was born, but He saw Jesus. Prophetically. Just like Abraham saw Jesus prophetically (John 8:58) Isaiah saw Jesus prophetically.

That LORD high and lifted up? Holy, holy, holy. That was Jesus.

That Messiah that was going to be pierced for our transgressions? That was Jesus. 

That righteous servant that was going to “see the light of life and be satisfied; [and] by his knowledge [He] will justify many” ? That was Jesus!

And Jesus was going to the glory and nothing was going to stop Him.

In this very chapter Jesus said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (Jn. 12:23 NIVO).

And Isaiah could see it from 700 years away!

Don’t panic. God’s plan is on track.

Now, John says that some people, even leaders, did believe in Jesus. Many had rejected Him (as predicted). But some believed. Look at verse 42.

“Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God” (vv.42-43).

That doesn’t sound good. It’s good that they recognized their Messiah when they saw Him. The miracles pointed to the truth all along.

But these folks were too scared to tell people that they believed. They were afraid of what other people would think, say, or do if they did. And that puts them in a dangerous spot.

It’s possible that some of them had real faith, and it was just timid at first. I think of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. They both apparently came to believe and were quiet about it at first. Nick came at night, right? But by the end of the gospel, they are being bold and going public with their belief in Jesus. 

But others might have believed and then never have gone with public with their faith, never “confessed” that they believed, and it’s really unclear whether or not they were truly saved.

John has been warning us that there is a kind of “believing” that isn’t really believing.

And one of the ways you know your faith is real is if you go public with it.

#2. GO PUBLIC. 

Tell other people that you believe in Jesus.

These folks were scared that they might be ostracized. You might feel the same way. You might be scared of being laughed at. Or denied a promotion at work. Or excluded from the party. Look at what John says about them in verse 43.

“They loved praise from men more than praise from God.”

I don’t want that to be said of me or of you. So often it’s been true of me. I want people to like me. I want people to think I’m great. If they think I’m great because I believe in Jesus, that’s great. But if they are going to think I’m a dummy for believing in Jesus, then I get tempted to not talk about Jesus.

But what if we paid attention to that last phrase, “praise from God?” Do you want praise from God? The Greek word there is “doxa” which we often translated as “glory.”

Do you want the Glorious One to put some glory on you?

I do! We have to want that more than we want the glory that comes from Instagram.

Go public with your faith in Jesus by loving the praise that comes from God. “Well done, you.” 

We just had another baptism class the last couple of weeks, and we’ll be having some more soon. Because not all of us are baptized yet like Jesus told us to do.

Some of you are scared of being baptized because you have to stand in front of others to proclaim your faith in Christ. Let me tell you, everybody here is rooting for you if you do that. It’s not even that you’re going to be tossed out on your ear like these folks were worried about. We are all here for you.

And if you are scared to give your testimony, I will read it for you. I’ve done it before. You don’t have to speak. But you do have stand in front of others and be baptized in front of others. Baptism is going public with your faith.

Don’t be scared. Think about the praise that will come from God if you go public with your faith in Jesus!

Remember: There are no secret agents in the Lord’s Army.

Go public. Tell others. Don’t be like these guys in verses 42 and 43. Who could you tell this week? That you believe in Jesus.

#3. PUT YOUR FAITH IN JESUS.

In verse 44, Jesus invites the public one last time to believe in Him before He disappears to the upper room. And He tells them how wonderful it is to believe and how terrible it is to not believe. Look at verse 44.

“Then Jesus cried out, ‘When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me.”

Everything Jesus says here is going to sound familiar.  

When you and I believe in Jesus, we don’t just believe in Jesus. We believe God the Father. Jesus doesn’t just act on His own. He was sent on a mission. And when you look at Jesus, you don’t just see Jesus. You see His Father. Sounds like chapter 1 to me. 

“No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known” (Jn. 1:18 NIVO). 

You want to know what God is like? Put your faith in Jesus.  Sounds like chapter 5 to me.  

“My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working” (Jn. 5:17 NIVO).

Remember, they tried to kill Him for saying that! They are still trying to kill Him for saying that!

Jesus has been sent on a mission to show the Father and to save His people. Verse 46.

“I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”

When we believe in Jesus, we escape the darkness. Sounds like chapter 8 to me.

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12 NIVO).

Who wants to escape the darkness?

Who wants to escape the judgment? V.47

“‘As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. [Sounds like chapter 3 to me. He didn’t come the first time to bring judgment though everyone who rejects Him will eventually receive it. V.48] There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.”

You see what He’s saying?

If you put your faith in Jesus, you aren’t just listening to Jesus.

You are listening to the Father. And you are escaping the darkness. And you are escaping the judgment that would come if you reject Jesus. And you are gaining eternal life. Verse 50.

“I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

“And He’s told me to say, ‘Believe in me.’” Sounds like chapter 3 to me.

“God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16 NIVO).

Life that goes on forever and is life with Jesus and His Father forever.

Do you believe in Jesus?

I know you believe in something. We all believe in something. But Jesus invites us to believe in Him.

And He warns of terrible things if we do not. Judgment. Darkness. Perishing. Eternal Death.

But wonderful things if we believe:

Listening the Father.

Escaping from the darkness into the light of life.

Eternal life.

Put your faith in Jesus.

Believe in Him.

***

Messages in this Series

01. "That You May Believe" - John 20:30-31
02. "In The Beginning Was the Word" - John 1:1-18
03. "John's Testimony" - John 1:19-34
04. "Come and See" - John 1:35-51
05. "The First of His Miraculous Signs" - John 2:1-11
06. "This Temple" - John 2:12-25
07. "You Must Be Born Again" - John 3:1-15
08. "God So Loved The World" - John 3:16-21
09. "Above All" - John 3:22-36
10. "Living Water" - John 4:1-26
11. "Ripe for the Harvest" - John 4:27-42
12. "Your Son Will Live" - John 4:43-54
13. "Pick Up Your Mat and Walk" - John 5:1-18
14. "To Your Amazement" - John 5:19-30
15. "Testimony About Me" - John 5:31-47
Christmas Eve Bonus: "The Astonishing Gift" - John 3:16 Again
Christmas Eve Bonus: "We Have Seen His Glory" - John 1:1-18 Again
16. "Enough Bread" - John 6:1-15
17. "You Are Looking for Me" - John 6:16-36
18. "I Am the Bread of Life" - John 6:35-71
Vision Meeting Bonus: "As I Have Loved You" - John 13:34-35
19. "At the Feast" - John 7:1-52
20. "I Am the Light of the World" - John 8:12-30
21. "Your Father" - John 8:31-59
22. "Now I See" - John 9:1-41
23. "I Am The Gate" - John 10:1-13
24. "I Am the Good Shepherd" - John 10:14-21
25. "I And The Father Are One" - John 10:22-42
26. "I Am the Resurrection and the Life" - John 11:1-53
27. "Expensive" - John 11:54-12:11
28. "The Hour Has Come" - John 12:12-26

29. "Father, Glorify Your Name!" - John 12:27-36

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