John 5:19-29

[0:00] Good morning, church. Yeah, somebody mentioned that there's a lot of unfamiliar faces, and I'm noticing that as well.! I should say that if you don't know who I am, my name is Tyler Wilkins, and I'm a member here at this church.

[0:19] And I'm a believer. I'm a Christian. I'm a person who loves the Lord, and I've spent time with Him. In particular, this week, to try to bring an encouragement to you all.

[0:37] Step away from that speaker. I'll wander this way. How's that? I want to bring an encouragement to you as my brothers and sisters, or even as people who might not know the Lord.

[0:51] I mean, I don't know you, so I don't know where your heart is. You may even think that you do know the Lord, and you could be deceived. Jesus teaches us that that is possible. So I want to encourage us from the scriptures this morning.

[1:08] And let me pray quickly before I do that. Lord Jesus, I'm coming before you this morning completely unaware of the future.

[1:22] Lord, this could be the last time that I get to speak. Lord, this could be my last day. This could be my last hour.

[1:32] God, I don't know. I don't know what's going to happen. I feel fine. God, I feel okay. I feel like I'm going to go on for, you know, whatever the statistical age is for people in America these days.

[1:44] But God, you are the one who knows. You hold the future. This could be it. This could be the last stuff that I get to say to anyone ever. This side of heaven.

[1:55] And so, Lord, I pray. I pray that you would help me. Lord, help me. Give me help. Give me strength in this pulpit this morning to preach as a dying man to dying men and women.

[2:09] Lord, give me the words that you would have me to communicate to these people this morning, right now, as if they were the last words that we would hear. Lord, if this is my last chance to encourage people towards Christ, let me do it.

[2:25] Let me do it well. I pray that you would send the Holy Spirit, Spirit that you would be here working in this place, doing your great work of conviction and of revealing Christ.

[2:38] I'm so grateful for the text that we have to look at this morning. And I pray that it would be clear. Lord, help me. Help me to speak clearly and to communicate well and to put forward what is there in your word.

[2:54] And then, Lord, I pray that each heart here would be fertile soil. Fertile soil, Lord. Till it up. Break up the rocks in people's hearts and make it into good soil.

[3:06] And so that when I drop this good seed of the gospel, the word, into that soil, that it will grow. So 30-fold, 60-fold, 100-fold. Lord, I pray that Satan would be banished from this place.

[3:22] That he would not be able to come along and pluck out the word of life, such as he does to the seed that's scattered on the path. Lord, get him out of here. I pray that Satan would be banished from here and that demons would be banished from here.

[3:35] That even if there are people here this morning, Lord, who have been afflicted by the enemy through this week, Lord, I pray that today, this morning, while we have this time, that you would give them a safe haven so that they can hear the gospel and live.

[3:51] Lord, that's my desire this morning. So I pray that you would help me to do it in your name. Amen. Amen. So, yeah, I wanted to encourage you all this morning as I was preparing, you know, this sermon.

[4:12] I was like, what am I doing? Like, you know, what are we doing when we stand up here and talk, right? What is a sermon? What's the point, right? And it's a lot of times we kind of, you know, we focus on the information part of it, right?

[4:27] Well, I'm teaching you, right? And that's true. You know, you hopefully will learn some things or have some things reinforced that you didn't know maybe or before. But really, you know, what I want to do is I want to encourage you.

[4:42] And I'm using the word encourage a lot on purpose, right? Because I think that's a word that sometimes we get, we use it kind of weirdly, right? But if you think about it really literally, encourage.

[4:53] I want to give you courage, right? I want to give you, by the words that I'm using this morning, I want to give you courage, right? And courage is useful for action, right?

[5:05] You don't just have courage and then sit around and not do anything with it, right? Because otherwise it's pointless. You don't need courage to sit around, right? So I want to encourage you. I want to give you strength, give you the feeling of ability so that you can do something, right?

[5:23] And that thing in general is going to be live the Christian life well, right? I want to encourage you with Jesus's words so that you are able to live well, live in a manner that is worthy of the calling to which you have been called, right?

[5:38] That's what I feel like my purpose is right now, okay? I want to encourage you, make you feel strong based on God's word, okay? That's my goal. We'll see if that happens.

[5:51] Let's read the text. So we're in John chapter 5, and we have just come through, Rob preached last week about Jesus just healed this guy at the pool of Bethesda.

[6:07] And that was amazing. Like, I don't know if you heard it or if you've read that story, but like, that was such an amazing thing that Jesus did, right?

[6:17] This was a man who was completely, I mean, he'd been an invalid for 38 years. That's like an entire lifetime, right? So this guy has been able to basically do nothing with his entire life, right?

[6:30] And then Jesus, you know, kind of comes along, and he's like, hey, you know, you want to be healed? And the guy's like, yeah, you know?

[6:41] And he's like, oh, okay. But, you know, I'm like paralyzed or whatever, so, you know, it's really hard to, you know, move. And I couldn't get down to the pool and get healed, and, you know, I've been doing this.

[6:55] You know, who knows how long he's been laying there. And, you know, so basically he's like, yeah, I want to be healed, but I can't. And Jesus is like, oh, okay, yeah, that's too bad.

[7:09] Well, hey, you know what? Why don't you just get up? Why don't you just get up? Have you tried that, you know? No? Okay, let me help you. Get up. Take up your bed and walk, right? And the guy believes Jesus, okay?

[7:22] That, like, that didn't make any sense, right? But, like, he believes the Lord, and he's like, okay, and then he does it. He does it. He gets up and is able to walk, right? This, I mean, he hasn't been able to do this for 38 years, right?

[7:36] Or he's never been able to do it, and he's 38 years old, right? Not totally clear. But, like, this is crazy, right? This guy's up, and he's walking around. He's like, wow, this is awesome, right?

[7:47] You know, and then somebody sees him, and they're like, hey, why are you carrying that, you know, on the Sabbath? You're not supposed to do that. And he's like, oh, my bad. The guy, you know, he told me, you know.

[7:58] So we talked about all that, right? And that's where we are now. So the Jews, they were upset with Jesus because he had himself violated the Sabbath by healing on the Sabbath.

[8:13] And, you know, he had sort of directed this guy to also do the same, right? So they're upset with him. And then, so that's one reason they're upset. That then Jesus goes, my father is working until now, and I am working.

[8:30] And they were like, excuse me? You know? And so then it says in verse 18, this was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him.

[8:41] Because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own father, making himself equal with God.

[8:54] One thing I want to say before I go any further also, really quick. I'm going to be using the phrase, the Jews, this morning.

[9:04] And we have been using that phrase, you know, because it appears in the scriptures, the Jews. And being a person who is sensitive to, like, ethnic and racial discrimination in our world, I want to be really careful when I use that phrase, okay?

[9:25] When I say the Jews, I don't mean that in any kind of a derogatory way, and neither do the scriptures, right? It's not just saying, because we know that people, even now in this country, are using that idea of the Jews did this, the Jews do that, and they're fueling their anti-Semitism.

[9:45] I want to draw a really hard line. That's not what I'm trying to do. I'm not saying that there is anything particularly wrong with Jewish people, right?

[9:55] When I say the Jews, I'm talking about the Jewish leaders, the Jewish religious leaders, basically like the church leaders at the time, who didn't believe in Christ.

[10:07] So I'm not even talking about all of the Jewish leaders, because some of them believed. Some of them came to faith, and they believed in Jesus, right? So it's not all Jews, and it's not all Jewish leaders, right?

[10:18] It's these Jews who disputed with Christ, okay? So if you hear me say the Jews, just kind of flippantly, know that I'm not insulting Jewish people, right?

[10:29] I love Jewish people. They have a very rich and beautiful history with our God, right? The God of the Old Testament is their God.

[10:40] There's a piece missing, but to them belong the covenants, right? And the promises, as Paul has said, okay? So don't be put off by that. Now, let's read.

[10:52] I'm going to start reading in verse, well, I'll start in verse 16, and then it'll pick up on the screen in verse 19, which is where our text starts today. So, and this is why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.

[11:09] But Jesus answered them, My father is working until now, and I am working. This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own father, making himself equal with God.

[11:24] Verse 19. So, Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, the son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the father doing.

[11:34] For whatever the father does, that the son does likewise. For the father loves the son, and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.

[11:46] For as the father raises the dead, and gives them life, so also the son gives life to whom he will. The father judges no one, but is given all judgment to the son, that all may honor the son, just as they honor the father.

[12:01] Whoever does not honor the son, does not honor the father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

[12:16] Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the father has life in himself, so he has granted the son also to have life in himself.

[12:31] And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the son of man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming, when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out.

[12:41] Those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment. So, you know, no big deal, right?

[12:53] Just, Jesus said some stuff. This text, entirety of our text this morning, is Jesus talking. Which are always the coolest passages to me, because, you know, that's what we really are interested in.

[13:04] It's like, what does Jesus want us to do? What is he trying to teach us? Right? So, you know, he says some stuff here. And, as I was reading this, I was just like, like, the Bible is great.

[13:18] The Bible is really awesome, and we should be thankful that we have it. But, like, man, it can fall so flat, can't it? Like, sometimes when you're reading stuff in the Bible, you just, you read it kind of like I just read it.

[13:29] Like, oh yeah, Jesus did this. And then he said, truly, truly, blah, blah, blah. And, you know, and then he healed a guy. And you totally miss the craziness of the Bible, right?

[13:40] So, like, the main thing that I really want to highlight this morning is, like, how wild this is. Like, Jesus is wilding in this passage. He's talking crazy, right? But, like, we don't really get it.

[13:51] We don't feel that, you know? We just, because, you know, maybe we've read it before, or, like, it's text on a page, and it's just, you don't typically read a book and go, whoa, you know?

[14:02] But it's like, if you think about this for a while, you're going to start to see, like, what? Like, Jesus is, he's talking crazy, okay? He's talking crazy this morning.

[14:13] So, let's take a look at it. Now, it says, I really like and appreciate verse 18, which is the verse that directly precedes my passage.

[14:25] But it's great because it shows us two things. It shows us, you know, why the Jews wanted to put Jesus to death, and also the fact that they understood Jesus to be saying that he is equal with God.

[14:38] Right? So, I don't know about you guys, but sometimes when I read the Bible, and I come across one of those passages that people say, oh, this is Jesus claiming deity. This is Jesus claiming to be God.

[14:49] I read it, and I'm kind of like, eh, is it? Like, you know, like, here's one. My father is working until now, and I am working. Okay? To my, you know, 21st century ears, that doesn't immediately make me go, that guy just said he was God.

[15:10] Right? It doesn't sound like that. He just said, my father is working until now, and I am working. But apparently, when he said this to the Jews, that was their reaction.

[15:20] They were like, what? What does this guy think he's doing? Like, what, did you hear what he just said? This is crazy. Right? So, because Jesus said that, they wanted to kill him because they heard him to be saying, yeah, I'm equal with God the Father.

[15:39] Okay? So, why that matters to us right now is this. If you're reading this, and you're going, well, I'm not really sure that's what he said. Or like, you know, I'm not really, I don't really get that from this.

[15:52] It doesn't matter. Okay? What you get from it doesn't matter. Because the people that Jesus was talking to understood his message.

[16:03] So, he tailored his message to who he was speaking to. Right? So, Jesus was a very, very effective communicator. And he made sure that when he was talking to somebody, they got what he was saying.

[16:16] Right? Unless he wanted to purposely confuse them, and then he told them a parable. Right? Sometimes he would do that. But like, you know, he's not going to just say something like vague, and then people freak out.

[16:27] And then him just kind of be like, oh, they totally misunderstood me, but whatever. You know, I'm going to go build a chair because I'm a carpenter. You know, he's not like that. Right? Right? Jesus' whole mission is to make sure that we understand who he is and what he's come to do.

[16:40] Right? So, and he wants it to happen in the right time, which is why sometimes he told parables, and sometimes he was really direct. And, you know, he was pacing it according to what he saw the Father doing, which we're about to talk about.

[16:50] But they understood what he was saying. Okay? And I think that you want to go with that. Okay? Even if you are thinking, well, you know, I'm very educated in YouTube, and like, it's 2023, and I think I can understand English.

[17:04] And he didn't say he's God. Jesus never really claimed to be God. He did. He did. Okay? He did. Everyone heard it. Everyone understood it. Okay?

[17:15] They were not confused. They were angry. They were not confused. All right? So, we need to set aside our interpretation of what Jesus is saying, and we need to listen to what John is saying here.

[17:27] He's like, look, this is the situation. However you have taken Jesus up to this point, I am now clarifying for you as your narrator, this is why the Jews wanted to kill him.

[17:40] Because he said this, and he was claiming this. Does that make sense? Okay? So, Jesus was claiming to be equal with God. Now, he says, man, he starts talking so crazy.

[17:53] So, he says, truly, truly, I say to you, which is one of those, like, Jesus-isms, you know, which is kind of like, hey, for real.

[18:04] Okay? Like, real talk. Or like, for real, for real. Like, seriously, guys. Okay? Phrases like that. Right? Truly, truly. Because, you know, we don't say that. Right?

[18:14] I've never said truly, truly I say unto you in my daily life. Right? But I have said when I'm trying to emphasize something important, be like, hey, man, for real. Like, listen. Or, you know, like, hey, like, seriously.

[18:25] Check this out. Right? It's an emphatic. So Jesus is saying like, really now, listen, okay? The Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. So first thing that's crazy about that is Jesus is now just blatantly calling himself the Son, that is the Son of God, right? Because he said back in verse 17, my Father's working until now, and I am working. Then he says, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. So he's not suddenly talking about some different person, right? He's like, oh yeah, I'm working. Okay, forget me though, the Son, no, he's the Son. He's talking about himself, right? So he's now calling himself the Son of the Father.

[19:21] The Father is God. Jesus is calling himself the Son of God, okay? Which again, the Jews heard this and they understood that, like, okay, not sure about that, but whatever, right?

[19:32] But that's what Jesus is saying here. So he's just, you know, throws that out there. I'm the Son of God. Then he says, he claims that he's only ever doing what the Father does, or like what the Father would do or does do, right? Which, among other things, means that Jesus is here claiming that he does not sin. So you may not have thought about it that way, right? When you first read it, but if somebody only does what God the Father does, does God the Father sin?

[20:06] No. Okay? He's saying, I don't do anything apart from what the Father does. Nothing. I don't do anything except for what God the Father does. So he doesn't sin. Crazy, right? Crazy statement, unless he's correct, right? But shocking, nonetheless, right? So whatever I see God the Father doing, that's what I do, and that's all I do. Then he says, for the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing, which is, again, amazing, because that, you know, you think about people who have had insight into what God is doing, right? People like, you know, Abraham was spoken to by the Lord. People like Moses, you know, talked to the, you know, to the Lord frequently.

[20:58] People like the prophets, right? Encountered the Lord, right? They, you know, they heard from him, and they heard, you know, they heard lots, maybe, in some cases, of what God was doing. But Jesus says, the Father shows him all that he is doing. So right now, Jesus is claiming, I have greater, like, connection and insight into God than, like, than anyone else has ever had in all of history, okay? Which, you know, again, is absolutely amazing, right? There's, because, you know, later he's gonna, somebody's gonna, oh, you know, are you saying you're greater than Abraham? And Jesus is like, yeah, like, like, totally, you know, like, I'm way greater than Abraham, you know? Like, Abraham had that one promise, right, that he was kind of fixated on that we know about from the scriptures, and God was like, Abraham, you're gonna have, you know, this huge family, and it's gonna, you know, endure to generations, and all that. And it was a big deal, and oh, man, Abraham, he was so connected with the

[22:01] Lord, you know? And he was, you know? It was great for Abraham, but Jesus is like, I got that, like, constantly. I know constantly what God the Father is up to, and I'm up to it, too, right? My Father is working until now, and so am I, right? I know, I know what's going on here. Why? Well, because I'm God, right? And then he says, and greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.

[22:30] Small point here, but, you know, this, I take this phrase, so that you may marvel, it's like another way of saying that classic answer that we know about, like, why does God do things? And like, the overarching generic answer is for his own glory, right? God does everything that he does to glorify himself, right? Which is right, because he is worthy of all praise. Amen? So, you know, God, Jesus is seeing the Father, doing all these works. Jesus is walking in those works in perfect obedience, and he tells us the reason. He's like, you know, the reason that this is going on, the reason I'm doing this, is so that you may marvel, so that you may see who God is, right? I am walking this walk with you all, so that you see who God is, and that you would marvel. You should be amazed. When you see who God is, you should be amazed, right? Jesus is teaching us that's the appropriate reaction to understanding God, amazement, right? So, a quick question for your consideration, like, if you're a note taker, you might write this question down. Do you marvel at the works of Christ? You don't have to say an answer out loud to me, but think about it, because I'll tell you, I mean, many times, I don't, you know? Like, I do like I was talking about earlier. I'll read a story. Oh, you know, Jesus, you know, raised somebody from the dead, and I'm just kind of like, hmm, wow, Jesus, that was cool, you know? And then I go and, like, play a video game or something, you know? It's like, I'm not, I don't marvel at it all the time, right? I move my eyes across the text, and maybe I think about it for a second, and then I kind of move on, right? But you should, you should be amazed, right? And I mean, I don't know about you guys, but, like, I guess this is kind of sad. I hadn't thought about this, but, like, not a whole lot of things make me marvel.

[24:35] I'm not amazed by many things, you know? I don't, I don't just walk around, you know, being like, I mean, I think when I was a kid, maybe I did, you know, because, like, everything seemed really fresh, you know? And I'm just, like, you see, like, a Ferris wheel, and you're like, oh, whoa, like, what is that? Like, you want to know everything about it, and you want to go on it, and you want to touch it, oh, man, or, you know, somebody hands you, like, a, like, a foot-long hot dog or something, and you're like, oh, man, like, whoa, look at that, you know? And it's like your life is just kind of, you know, going around just, you know, marveling at things, and it's like, you know, as we get all mature and, and, like, old and stuff, you know, just stuff kind of stops being as interesting, right? Because we feel like, well, I mean, I've seen this, I've seen something like this, you know, like, I've heard that, I, I know already, right? As the weight of the world begins to accumulate on us, we start feeling like we know stuff, or we, we understand stuff, right? But it's like, God is continuously amazing, right? He is, and, and if you don't think that he is, you're not, you're not paying attention. I'll, I'll put it that way, okay? Like, if you, doesn't matter how old you are, or how long you've been a Christian, God is continuously amazing, right? To an infinite degree. Like, you know, I, I heard a guy in a sermon once say, and this isn't scripture, but, like, this was just his attempt to, like, understand heaven. He was saying, like, yeah, heaven is, like, you get, you show up on the first day, and, like, you know, Jesus is there, and he's, like, okay, like, I want to show you something, all right? Now, but I gotta, I gotta, like, hold you together, because this is gonna blow your mind, like, but I'm talking about, like, literally at this point, so I gotta, like, I gotta strengthen you, okay? All right, are you ready? And then, and he, like, opens some heavenly door, and you look in, and you see some glory of God, and you're, like, you know, and you, like, start, you, like, can't even comprehend it. You're, like, whoa, like, God, that is amazing. Wow, you're so good.

[26:44] You're so good. Oh, I can't believe it, and you're praising him, and, you know, the purpose of heaven is all that, and then he's, like, yeah, that was awesome, right? Yeah, okay, and then you, you know, go to bed. I don't know how it works in heaven, and then the next day, Jesus is, like, okay, now, I got something else to show you, you know? He's, like, but, like, I know you saw the thing yesterday, but, like, this is even better, you know? And you're, like, even better? Well, I can't handle that.

[27:06] It's, like, I know, but I'm, like, I'm, like, I'm gonna hold you up, right, and I'm gonna keep you together, keep you from just blasting apart from excitement, and I'm gonna show you, and he shows it to you, and you're, you know, and then it's, like, that, and this just keeps happening, like, every single day, right? There's some new thing about the Lord that is revealed to you, and you're just, like, wow, this is amazing. Wow, that's amazing. Look how good he is. I didn't know he loved me that much. Whoa, look at his redemption, and it's, like, all, you're just continuously amazed, right? That's, like, the image of heaven that this person was presenting, and I love that, you know?

[27:40] I think that's, that makes a lot of sense to me, and I think that as people who are pursuing heaven, we should be thinking that way as much as we can already. Be amazed at the works of the Lord.

[27:56] Okay, all right, I gotta move faster. I knew this was gonna happen. Okay, we are on verse 21. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.

[28:13] Okay, so up to this point in this gospel, I don't think Jesus has actually physically raised anyone from the dead, right? He does that later. So this is not, like, when he says, for as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even that statement would have kind of been, like, huh? What do you mean? When did he do that? What, what are you talking about, right? Because this isn't, it's not like people were just getting raised from the dead all over the place, right? Like, that's the whole point.

[28:42] When, when John's disciples were, like, hey, is this the Christ? And they were, like, well, what do you see? You see people, you know, receiving their sight back. They weren't, like, oh, yeah, just, people just come back to life sometimes, and that's, that's a thing, right? It's not a thing. That is very much not a thing. I don't know if you know, but it's not. So as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, hmm, strange, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. Well, because he hasn't done that physically at this point, we, we understand that he's talking spiritually, right? And the Father has done that over the course of Jesus's ministry so far, right? Because some people are beginning to believe in Christ. They're beginning to see who he is, and they're, like, oh, oh, yeah, I, I see, like, can this be the Christ? Like, I, I get what's going on here, right? So they're seeing that the Father is starting to raise the dead and give them spiritual life, but then he says, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. I wrote, I wrote myself a note here. It says, go off on the positive side of election for a minute.

[29:52] And, and due to time, it'll, it'll be a short minute, but I have to, I have to say this, because a lot of times, you know, and I've already, I've used the dreaded E-word election, right? And a lot of times when we hear that, people can get kind of triggered, because it's like, we think of it as a really negative doctrine, right? Like, oh, God's choosing, you know, you know, who's going where, and he's controlling me, and am I a robot, and all that stuff, okay?

[30:21] Set that aside for a second, okay? This is what's amazing about this. The Son gives life to whom he will. Salvation belongs to the Lord, right? So what that means is, Jesus is able to save you, no matter who you are. He gives life to whom he will. He doesn't ask anybody. He doesn't go, and he, you know, because your family might be like, oh, you know, we don't believe this. We've never believed this. You can't become a Christian, right? Or somebody might have convinced you by the way they treated you, or something like that. Like, you're not a candidate for salvation, or you might be talking to yourself, and thinking, well, but I've sinned like this, and like, I know that the people in the church, they're not sinners like that, and I can't, I can't go there. I can't be with, I can't do what they're doing, right? Salvation is not for me. Jesus is like, look, and just remember, this is Jesus talking. He says, the Son, which again, remember, he's saying, me, I, I give life to whom I will. So it's like, each of us, you need to think about it like this.

[31:31] It's you and Christ, like in a room by yourself, and Jesus is there, and he's like, okay, I have life in me to give. I have eternal life. I can give you eternal spiritual life. Here it is. Do you want it?

[31:54] And you answer the question. You don't start thinking about, but, you know, am I one of the chosen people on the list, but, you know, did I do the right stuff? Did I work hard enough? Am I a good enough person? Did I come from the right kind of family? Do you want it or not? I have it right here. Everyone else's mouth is silenced. I have it. It's mine. Salvation is mine. It belongs to me.

[32:18] I can give it to whoever I want. Nobody can stop me. Jesus is powerful. He just claimed to be on the same level of authority as God the Father. He spoke the universe into existence. He spoke you into existence, and he's like, I've got salvation for you. I have it right here. Do you want it? I'm telling you, I have the authority to give it to you. I can give it to you. I can raise you to life. I can change you. I can make you into a different person. You don't have to continue in sin. You've been broken and twisted by sin. You don't have to continue. I have the power and the authority to change it, right?

[33:03] He says back in Ezekiel, I can take out the broken, stony heart that you've accumulated through years of sin. I can take that out, and I can put in a heart of flesh that responds to me and that cares about my law and that loves me. I can do that. I have the power to do that, and I have the right to do it. No one can stop me. I don't know about you guys, but I love that. I think that is so beautiful, because when I think about people that I know that don't know the Lord, and I'm like, sometimes you look at those people, and you think like, I don't know if they're going to come.

[33:45] I don't know if they're going to believe in the Lord. I don't know if it's going to happen, right? Because, and you start thinking, well, they think like this, or they were raised like this, or they feel this, or they're just so strongly entrenched in this, right? Jesus is like, I've got all power in my hands. All authority has been given unto me, right? I do what the Father does.

[34:09] The Father has life in him. He has the ability to give life, and so do I. I can give it to you. I can give you life. Doesn't matter who you are. Doesn't matter what you've done. God can save you. So, that is an amazing statement that the Lord has made. He gives life to whom he will, but it's just tucked right in there. You see, like, we could have missed that. You know what I mean? Jesus is just rattling off this big stream of craziness, where we're just continuously like, what, what, what? But tucked in there is that much power, right? Oh, by the way, the Son gives life to whom he will.

[34:54] Wow. Wow. Think about that. So, verse 22, the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son.

[35:11] I hope you're continuing in the theme here, and you're realizing, wait, that too is crazy, okay? Because, you know, the Jews, they have this understanding, right, that, like, at the end of the age, everybody's going to get resurrected, and then Jesus is going to, or, sorry, not Jesus, God the Father is going to judge, right? That's everybody's understanding of what's going to happen, and then Jesus goes, yeah, well, actually, the Father judges no one, and they're like, okay, I thought the Father judged everyone. He's like, no, no, no, that's me. I do that, right? I mean, like, think about, like, think about how it would feel to have somebody say that to your face, you know? Like, you've understood for your whole life, and for generations in your family, that, like, yeah, this is how it's going to be, and then somebody's just like, oh, yeah, I actually, he gave that job to me, you know?

[36:02] Like, okay, didn't, did he? You know, that's interesting, but he just says this, right? The Father is actually judging no one, but he's given all judgment to the Son, so that's important.

[36:15] Well, let me finish the sentence. He's given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father, and whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him, so basically, what I would say, focus on with this verse, is like, it is important what Christ thinks of you, and it's really only important what Christ thinks of you, right? To a lesser degree, it may be important what, like, your boss thinks of you or something, you know, be like job performance or something like that, but, like, that's way down on this level, okay? Ultimately, what matters is what Christ thinks of you, right? And so, you know, we need to make sure that we are listening to the Lord Jesus when he's telling us things like, well, I'm willing to shed my blood and buy your pardon, right? That's what I think about you. Well, he's the one doing the judging, right? So that's essential for you to keep in your mind as you consider who you are. But the purpose statement that Jesus gives in verse 23 here, so, you know, he said, so we might ask, okay, well, why would the Father turn all judgment over to the Son? And he answers that, so that we will honor the Son just as we honor the Father, okay? So this is very important, because here we need to understand that honor, he's talking about worship, because if you think about it, okay, how does a Jew honor the Father?

[37:53] Father, well, they worship him as God, right? They don't just say, like, you know, that guy has some stars, you know, I show him honor, right? He's saying, they are saying, okay, we worship him, right?

[38:09] That's the first commandment, right? We worship the Lord. We don't just, like, you might say, well, honor doesn't have to mean worship. Yeah, it doesn't have to, but it does in this case, right? Because that's how they interact with God the Father. They worship him. They honor him to the point of worship, which, of course, is correct, right? Jesus is saying, hey, you got to honor me just as you honor the Father. In other words, worship me, right? Paradigms are exploding, okay? Again, not something you can just say, okay? You can't just walk around and tell people to worship you. I don't know if you know that, but please don't do that, okay? Like, if you're doing that, stop, because it ain't right, you know? You can't just say, oh, yeah, you know how you feel about God? That's how you should feel about me. That's not acceptable, okay? You can't do that unless you are God, all right? So, Jesus here is saying, you need to worship me just like you worship God the Father, because we're the same, right? Well, we're not the same, but we are God, right? We are a part of a trinity. We are God.

[39:27] And that's, you know, I'm not going to make a big point off of that, because I got to move faster here, but in fact, that's all I'll say about that. Worship Jesus. Now, moving on, let's look at verse 24, because this is also very critical. He says, truly, truly, I say to you, in other words, seriously, guys, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. So, one thing that I think first, you know, you really need to answer when you hear that, is like, do you even want eternal life?

[40:22] Got one yes. All right, that's good. Well, you got to answer that for yourself, right? Like, do I want eternal life, right? Because Jesus, right here in this verse, he's teaching you how to get it, right?

[40:35] He's saying, like, this is how you get eternal life, but for those of us that are here reading this now, we got to check ourselves and be like, okay, is this even something that I really want, right? Is this something I'm actually pursuing? You know what I mean? And so, if so, good news, because Jesus has been telling you how to get it, but like, if you don't want it, if you don't care about eternal life, that's a big problem. I'll call it a problem, right? You might not feel like it's a problem. That's the reason I hesitated, because if you don't want your eternal life, and I tell you, well, that's a problem, you could just be like, well, I disagree. And it's like, okay, well, but I'm going to call it a problem, right?

[41:18] If you don't want it, and what I mean by that it's a problem is that you are not going to seek it unless you want it, okay? It's a philosophical problem, right? I also think that it's like a, you know, like a on-the-ground type of problem as well, but I'm talking about it's a philosophical problem. So, you have to want eternal life, and then when you do, you must, let's see, hear my word and believe him who has, who sent me has eternal life. That's the person that has eternal life.

[41:51] If you hear his word and believe, okay? So, notice that Jesus did not say, and gives a bunch of money to the poor, and, you know, comes to every church meeting, and says really nice stuff all the time at work to his co-workers, right? He didn't say that, right? But the thing about belief is like, belief is interesting. I believe that, I believe that belief is binary. It's, that is, you either believe something or you don't, okay? And you can tell whether you believe something, or believe in something, by how you behave in light of that, okay? So, you know, an example, like, think about the floor, okay? Take a look at the floor, think about the floor for a second.

[42:51] Um, now, you know, I'm standing on the floor. So, like, you know, I'm believing in the floor, right? At no point today did I start to freak out and fear that, like, the floor wasn't going to hold me anymore, right? I just, I, it's like, do I believe that the floor is there, and that it's going to support me? Yeah, I do. And you can tell it by how I'm acting, right? I do, I mean, I don't, I'm not up here, like, you know, trying to, you know, hold on to stuff, like, it's like, I'm afraid that, like, well, I don't know, I think maybe it'll hold me, but it might not, you know? Sometimes it, it doesn't, like, it's, it's right, it's there, right? Um, there was a line in a song that we sang earlier about something about a firm foundation, um, which was, which was good, um, you know? And so, it's like, it's there, it's there, and, uh, we, we believe in it. Belief is like faith. It's like conviction, right? These are similar words, okay? So, I believe in it, um, and you can tell by how I act. So, it's the same thing with the Lord, right? You need to, you need to think about this. Do I believe in the Lord, and do I believe His words, right? And it is a yes or no question, but it's not, like, when you're trying to figure it out, you need to look at your behavior, right? Because you might not know. You might think, well, yes, okay, yes, I believe in Jesus, I believe in the words that He says.

[44:24] Okay, how do you live? What do you do? Right? That will help you determine whether you actually believe or not, right? And I feel like the scriptures are really clear about that. Even the same author, John, you know, if you look in the book of 1 John, for instance, he goes through a bunch of, basically, tests for yourself. Like, oh, you say you believe in Jesus? Well, do you love your brother? Do you, you know, do you walk in darkness, right? There's, like, a big list of them in that book. If you don't know that, go check that out, 1 John. Great, great book for if you're a new believer, trying to determine whether your faith is real. Because it's kind of hard, right?

[45:00] This is kind of weird, this whole thing. Like, faith is kind of strange, right? Faith in God is kind of a strange thing. And so, it's like, you might start to feel like, you know, I've had some conversations with some of my kids where they're like, you know, I think I believe in Jesus. And I'm like, yeah, right on. But what I told him is, I was like, you know what we're going to do? I'm so happy that you feel like you believe in Jesus. Now, what we're going to do is, let's start paying attention to your life. Let's start seeing what you do, right? Because we're going to start teaching you, okay, Jesus says you should act like this, right? And then we're going to look at, what do you tend to do, right? Not, what did you do today, right? What do you tend to do? What is your life like as a pattern, right? Do you tend to repent when you sin? Do you care when you sin, right? That's kind of the level we're at right now, right? When you do something, when you're unkind to your brother, does that bother you? Do you care?

[45:58] Or do you just do it and then move on and eat a sandwich and sing a happy song, right? If you don't care, you're telling me you believe in Jesus, I'm not saying you don't, but I am saying like, that's not a positive data point. You know what I mean? Jesus is like, hey, treat your brother with kindness and you're smacking him in the face. You know, there's a disconnect in there. There's a, you know, there's, there's a disparity. Anyway, so belief is critical. I'm going to skip that.

[46:32] So these last few verses are kind of a little bit of restatement. So Jesus begins to say in verse 25, truly, truly, I say to you, right? This is the third time he said that now. So he's like, this, this is really important. This conversation that I'm having with you is really important, which is why I'm willing to talk about it for as long as I am.

[46:56] An hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. We've heard that before, right? Remember that? Jesus already said that, right? God, the Father has life in him. I have life in me. Then he says, and he has given him authority to execute judgment. He already said that, right? He just said that, right? I'm going to be the one judging.

[47:33] You thought it was just God, the Father, but I'm telling you, I'm the Son of God and I will judge. He's, he's saying that again. He's given him authority to execute judgment because he is the Son of Man. You know, no big deal, right? Just, okay. All right. I got to, I got to read this. I actually put in my notes here. Don't make a huge detour and it's not going to be a huge detour, but I've already been talking for a long time. And so it's going to be a super, not huge detour, but like, this is important.

[48:03] So Jesus says, he uses the term Son of Man. I think this is the first time in this gospel he uses that title for himself. And it's a, it's a big one. It's actually his most favorite one for himself, the Son of Man. And what he's talking about is there's this figure in Daniel, the prophet Daniel.

[48:20] Daniel. It's from Daniel 7, 13 and 14. And this person is prophesied by Daniel to basically be given rule over all the nations of the earth. So I'm just going to read those two verses to you really quick. So listen to this. This is Daniel 7, 13 and 14. Daniel says, I saw in the night visions and behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a son of man. So that's what he's talking about. That's the phrase. There came one like a son of man and he came to the ancient of days.

[48:51] That's God, the father in this vision and was presented before him and to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him.

[49:11] His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away and his kingdom, one that shall not be destroyed. Nobody on the earth can claim that. Nobody on the earth has dominion and glory and a kingdom over all peoples and nations and languages and they all serve him and that dominion persists into eternity and it shall never be destroyed. Nobody on earth can claim that. Nobody. Think about it.

[49:45] Who could you say that about? Maybe some people are, well, this ruler ruled over a lot of people. Yeah, but it wasn't everyone. It wasn't every person and it didn't go on forever, right?

[49:58] So, you know, Daniel is saying, hey, this person's going to come. Jesus then says, oh yeah, he's given him authority to execute judgment because he's the son of man. You know, that son of man guy that you guys have been studying, you know, your whole lives? Yeah, that's me.

[50:19] Craziness, okay? So that's amazing. Then he says, do not marvel at this, which I think is funny because it's like probably the reason Jesus says, do not marvel at this is because he's saying all this crazy stuff and the people are reacting to it, right? Because you got to remember, this is real people.

[50:37] Like these are the actual words that Jesus said to real people who were like unprepared. You know, it's not like they didn't come to a church service where they already believed in Jesus and then somebody talked to him about Jesus. They didn't know he was going to say this, right? So then he just comes and he's like, oh yeah, I judge you and like, I, you know, I'm eternal, like God the Father and I, you know, I'm the son of man and they're just probably freaking out kind of, right? You know, and he's like, well, don't marvel at this, you know? I'm just, I'm telling you the truth, right? And ours is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice, they'll come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. So Jesus is just reiterating here, there really is a judgment, okay? That's, that's not popular today. We don't like to talk about judgment, but we do need to realize that there is a judgment, right? It does matter how you live in this life. It does matter what you do. You will be judged.

[51:36] You will be judged by Jesus Christ. And if you don't like it, I mean, there's nothing else I can tell you. You know what I mean? Like, I can't soften it. I can't be like, well, it's, it's not actually that bad or whatever. It's bad. It's bad, okay? It's gonna happen.

[51:57] Christ will judge you, even if you don't think that he should, even if you don't think he has the right, even if you didn't worship him and you worshiped a different God, he will judge you. He is that son of man who rules over all, over all dominion, over all peoples, all languages, okay? All different types of people in different locations. He will judge them all. So we need to understand that, but we also need to realize this is actually very kind of Jesus to say this, right? Because not only is there a way for us to escape a negative judgment, which is hallelujah, right? There is a way to escape that, but also Jesus tells us what it is. He doesn't have to do that. He didn't have to do that, right? Just because there is a way to escape judgment, that doesn't mean that he had to tell.

[52:49] He could have been like, well, he could have, he could have went Romans one on him and be like, you should have intuited this by observing the world. You should have understood this and you should have come to it on your own. It should have been clear to you. But Jesus was like, they're not getting it. You know, there's creation right there. It should explain this to them. They're not getting it. I'm going in. I'm going down. I gotta, I gotta show them. I gotta tell them, right? I gotta make them understand this. Jesus went to great lengths to make sure that you understand that he is God and that he will save you. He went to great lengths, right? How kind is our God? How kind is our God to do that? You know, when, when the angels that sinned and became demons, when they did that, what happened to them? God was like, well, obviously you're going to be condemned, right? They sinned. He was like, okay, casting you out of heaven, you will be in eternal torment.

[53:47] Done deal, right? There's no gospel. There's no mercy. There was no, oh man, oh, but I love those angels. I made them. Oh, let me, here, let me become one, an angel and go over and help them understand. He didn't do any of that. He was like, hey, I gave you the law. You violated it. You're condemned. There's nothing they can do about it. Demons cannot be redeemed. But, but with us, we do the same thing, right? We defy God. And it's like, you can just imagine in heaven, you know, when that happened, when, you know, when Adam and Eve sin, they're like, ooh, they're about to get that smoke. Watch. Like, I've seen this. I know what happens. Watch. Watch this. God's going to just, you know, like there's, he just, it's, it's crazy, right? Watch this guys, watch. And then God goes, Adam, you know, Adam, what happened? Where are you? Well, blah, blah, blah, blah, a little excuse. Okay. And he's like, all right, let me tell you what I'm going to do. And the angels are like, man, watch this righteousness. Watch it. Watch it. He's got the hammer. And they're like, you know, God's like, I'm going to make a way for you to be redeemed because I love you. And I want you to be with me. I want you in my kingdom. I made you. I want you to be in my kingdom. I'm going to make a way. And I have all authority to hand it to you.

[55:24] And heaven is like, what? Why? Why? You ever asked yourself that question when you really start to like think about the gospel that what God has done for you? Why? Why? I didn't do anything to earn that.

[55:48] I did everything to get the opposite of that. I should have gotten what the demons got. But I, but I didn't. Why? And it's not because of any of your righteousness. It's not because of your goodness, but it's because in spite of your badness, God loves you.

[56:07] And he wants you. He desires us. He wants us to be in his kingdom. He's standing there. Come all who are thirsty. Come to the fountains and drink, right? We heard that passage recently in this pulpit. Come get it, right? And it doesn't make that much sense, y'all. I'm telling you, like, it doesn't actually make that much sense. But like, you need it. I need it. These guys, they need it. Right? They need to understand. We need to understand, like, the person who could destroy me and who should destroy me has decided to do the exact opposite of destroying me and exalt me. It's beautiful. So Jesus is kind to teach us that.

[56:57] And that's, that's all I have. You know, basically just, I want you to consider what Jesus has said here in his goodness and his kindness and ask yourself, do you believe this? Right? You need, you need to believe this and be saved. So meditate on these things.

[57:20] Meditate on them until you believe. That, that would be my counsel to you. Meditate on these things until you find that you believe. Um, and you don't need to do, you know, any specific thing.

[57:33] Um, like for me, you know, you don't need to like walk up here and shake my hand or, you know, shout something out in tongues or something like that to prove that you've believed. Right? Like you need to go and get with the Lord. You could do that in here. You can come up here and talk to me about it and I can try to help you. You can talk to the elders, you know, here, um, and they can try to help you. But like somehow, some way you got to get with the Lord Jesus and you have to answer this question of, do I believe this? Do I believe that he is God and do I worship him?

[58:06] Um, that was long, but, um, let me, let me pray for us. Lord, we, uh, we just ask for your help now. Um, you know, I, I ask that again, again, I will pray the same thing, that you would make our hearts fertile soil. Um, Lord, especially I think about, you know, like the kids that are here, um, and the kids that are there. Lord, I, will you just, just agitate that soil, uh, fill it with nutrients.

[58:39] God, prepare it, um, so that the word will, will penetrate in and will, will grow. And I pray that the cares of the world would not begin to choke it out, um, Lord, but that it would flourish, that it would be a good crop, that we would be with you. Because, Lord, we love you. We love you. I love you, Lord, and I, I'm excited to be with you. Um, and I pray that you would build that excitement, um, in your church. But we thank you for your word. We thank you for this time, Jesus.

[59:13] Um, and we just ask for your help in your name. Amen.