Okay, so as Australians, our minds have been conditioned.
That's no surprise, I guess, but we've been conditioned to take on board and give acceptance to ideas that are actually opposite or exclusive of one another.
So Australians, who often believe there's no control of any god of any sort in their lives, will often talk about karma, which is a Hindu belief that the gods repay you according to what you deserve.
Those two things seem to be exclusive opposites.
Likewise, many Australians believe in both reincarnation and resurrection.
Opposites.
Our political leaders, you'll often hear them say that they don't believe in God.
And yet, when there's a crisis, you'll also hear them saying, well, our prayers go out to so-and-so and so-and-so.
It assumes that there's a God out there who cares, who will come to people and help them in time of trouble.
And yet, on another level, they say, well, they don't believe in God.
We see the same problem in churches.
On the one hand, people say, yes, of course, I believe and trust in Jesus.
We might even say, I believe and trust in the Lord Jesus.
And yet, what they actually believe, or their lifestyle, might be totally at odds with what they say they believe.
It might be totally in opposition to Jesus' commands, Jesus' teaching, and Jesus' example.
And so the problem we have, you see, is that oftentimes professed belief is not the same as actual belief.
And when push comes to shove, it's the actual belief that drives us, that governs our life's actions, not the professed belief.
And the strange thing is that we can have both, and the two can be quite opposite.
And that's how we've been conditioned to live as Australians.
And that's exactly the problem we wrestle with, we have to wrestle with, when we jump back into John's biography of the life of Jesus.
On the one hand, none of us come to these verses in neutral.
I suspect that everyone here this morning have opinions and beliefs about Jesus, who he is, and how we should respond to him.
But our professed beliefs may not be right.
Our actual beliefs may be quite different to that which we profess, and oftentimes are for us as Christians.
So if we're going to actually respond to Jesus properly, then our beliefs, our opinions, our views, need to be shaped by his words, his opinions, his views.
And my friends, that includes, as we'll see this morning, being shaped by teachings that are actually uncomfortable personally.
And in fact, unfashionable in our modern day society.
But we'll see more of that in a little while.
But with that in mind, let's remind ourselves of the structure and context of these verses.
So verse 18 is a bridge.
So the bridge links the healing miracle of Jesus, where he healed that guy who had been a cripple for 38 years, and he heals him.
Just like that. Just gone. Bang.
Complete restoration of health.
It's not even a restoration.
It's complete giving of health and physical fitness.
And then the passage we're doing this morning is Jesus teaching about the significance of that particular sign or miracle.
And the key thing in that verse 18 is this.
That the Jewish religious leaders had already by that stage decided that the only way to respond to Jesus was to kill him.
The healing did nothing but increase their outrage and increase their determination to kill him as soon as ever possible.
How does that happen?
Well, the key issue seems to be, as we read verse 18, the key issue was that Jesus disregarded the Sabbath rules.
Now remember, these Sabbath rules were rules that were actually made up by the Jewish religious leaders.
But they had been teaching that these rules were actually, you had to obey them.
They were essential.
You had to obey them if you were to be acceptable to God.
If you were to be saved.
If you were to get into the kingdom of God.
If you were to get into heaven.
And all those terms are the same thing.
You have to keep these rules.
That's what makes you acceptable to God.
That's what enabled you to say, I've honored God.
And so when it comes to the rules of the Sabbath, the Jews would have thought like this.
Well, only God has exemption from these rules because only God made Sabbath.
So when Jesus gets disregarded these rules, he was not only rejecting their authority as Pharisees and Jewish religious leaders,
but he was rejecting their understanding of what honored the Lord.
What made a person acceptable to him.
And most offensive of all to these Jewish religious leaders, they could hear Jesus saying,
I am God.
Added to that, if you look back at verse 14,
Jesus had dared to take upon himself the responsibility of determining the place of sin in another person's life.
That was outrageous to the Pharisees.
Only God could do that.
And verse 17, Jesus identified himself very personally with God in his work of healing.
My father's working, so am I.
My father is healing, so do I.
And as the Jewish religious leaders heard this and saw this in front of their very eyes,
the fury raised up within them.
And there's only one possible outcome.
And that was Jesus had to go.
Exposing sin specifically in a person's heart.
Healing or restoring life.
Working on the Sabbath.
These were things that only God could do.
Only God should do.
And for somebody like Jesus to take this sort of responsibility on himself was just vile blasphemy.
Deserving of death.
So how does Jesus respond in the face of this dire threat to his life?
Well, he doesn't run if that's what you're expecting.
He actually ramps up the confrontation.
He really takes it up to these guys and says to them effectively as we move into these verses,
Yeah, actually, you know, you guys have got this one right at least.
Yes, you are hearing me correctly saying I am God.
I'm equal with God.
But let me tell you, the concept of me being equal with God is far more outrageous than you guys can even begin to imagine.
Let me tell you a bit more about what it means to be equal with God.
He takes the battle up to them.
And he uses formal rabbinic language in this truly, truly.
That's exactly what a rabbi would use if he was teaching his disciples.
Jesus is having a lend to these guys.
Let's see what you're going to do with this, says Jesus.
And he proceeds to make three huge statements about equality.
Each of which pushes them to see that Jesus' understanding of equality with God is far more outrageous than they could imagine.
Statement one.
You cannot honour the Father if you reject me.
Now that doesn't sound all that hard for us because we're used to it.
But for these Jews, that would have just done their head in straight away.
Jesus spells out in verses 19 through to 23 the detail of his relationship to his Father.
But it's all leading to the conclusion of verse 23.
And that is, the conclusion is, the relationship's important, but it's the conclusion that's the most important because the conclusion is that to honour the Father is to honour Jesus as God.
That's the connection Jesus wants these guys to see.
So let's see how Jesus breaks that down in these verses.
Verse 19.
The one that James opened up for us already.
There's a total unity of will, purpose, and action.
A total harmony between the Father and the Son.
And it says there in verse 19 that Jesus never acts independently of his Father.
Now it's really important we notice the language there.
It's not that he just does not act independently as if he had a choice.
It's not just that he imitates the Father.
No, it says he cannot act independently of the Father because he's got the exact same nature.
Which means he's got the exact same desires.
He does the exact same things for the exact same reasons.
But that equality is not without difference or distinction.
So the Father and Son remain distinct personalities.
It's clear they've got different roles.
Especially seen in the issue of God's salvation purposes.
The Son is happily obedient to and always dependent upon the Father.
Yet that happens without competitiveness or resentment in the roles.
Now immediately I need to stop and say,
Well look, we're going to have trouble with that concept of equality.
Because that's not equality as we understand it in our world.
So when we talk about different roles.
So if we're talking about a workplace or even in a marriage.
When we talk about different roles, our minds immediately start to go to,
Ah, that means somebody's inferior and somebody's superior.
Or that means that somebody's open to exploitation by somebody else.
So for us in our world, when we think of equality,
we're thinking of a concept that removes distinctions and removes roles.
So that there's a perfectly reciprocal relationship.
Even to the fact that if we're going to be equal as husbands and wives,
we have to wear the same clothes.
Have the same hairstyles.
That's our concept of equality.
But that's not what Jesus is talking about here.
He's talking about a unity, a harmony, that's much deeper.
That's based in a oneness of values.
A oneness of mind.
A oneness of purpose.
Not competitive.
How does it work?
Well, verse 20, it works because of love.
This unity is nurtured, we're told in verse 20 there,
through a constant, generous, giving love
in which the Father reveals everything he has in mind in the salvation plan to Jesus.
And in turn, Jesus is driven by love for the Father.
So everything he does and says and teaches in response to that is perfectly synced.
He makes real the things that his Father has said and is doing.
So it's an equality that we have trouble getting our minds around.
And Jesus says, look, you've already seen these great things that we're doing together, Father and Son.
It's already been evident in my ministry of grace and mercy, says Jesus.
But you know what?
Far greater things are yet to come.
There's more to be heard, more to be seen, more to be experienced.
As I and the Father work together in the achieving of his salvation purposes.
And verse 21 and 22.
The key point is in terms of Jesus giving life.
For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life,
so also the Son gives life to whom he will, to whomever he chooses.
The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son.
Jesus has been given by the Father the primary role in achieving his salvation purposes.
And again, this would have just blown the heads of these Jewish religious leaders.
Because they understood that the Father was the source of all life.
It was his jurisdiction only to give life.
Now Jesus is saying, no, the Father's actually handed that on to me.
It's now become my role.
Yes, the Father is a source of life.
But in his salvation purposes, in real time,
he has committed the responsibilities of bestowing life and judgment to me, his Son.
Something already demonstrated in this miracle you've just witnessed,
but couldn't actually witness.
Because you're so tied up about rule-breaking.
So ultimately, Jesus is saying here,
it will be seen and demonstrated that he is the Messiah that Isaiah spoke about.
Both in his role as God's Savior,
in the future looking forward with death and resurrection as the basis for acceptance with God and new life.
But also, as we're told in here, in his role as God's King.
Now what does a King do?
Well, a King rules.
What is it to rule?
Well, a King rules by passing judgments.
That's acceptable.
That's not acceptable.
I want you to do this.
I don't want you to do that.
If you do that, when I don't want you to do it,
there will be consequences.
That's judging.
So Jesus is God's Savior and God's King.
And the two, we'll see a little bit more towards the end.
Those two things, just inseparable.
Jesus says,
The Father has given me free reign.
That's the bit to whomever I will.
The Father has given me free reign
in matters of achieving God's salvation purposes in this world.
Wow.
Now why would God do that?
Verse 23.
So that Jesus is honored
in precisely the same way
as the Father has been honored.
Now,
the implications of that one verse
are simply enormous.
Especially for these Jewish religious leaders.
Because the rejection of Jesus by these guys,
Jesus is really saying,
is a very, very serious matter indeed.
Jesus is saying to these guys,
now look,
you have a really strong commitment to honoring God.
I can see that.
Your idea of expressing that commitment of honoring God
is through rule keeping.
Religious activities.
You think these things honor the Lord,
but I'm telling you now, says Jesus,
that when they're put against me
and you reject me in favor of these things,
what you're actually doing is dishonoring God.
Yes, you can do all the good religious things you want to,
but if you reject me,
then you are not honoring God
and you will not have God's favor.
Ever.
In healing on Sabbath,
he was breaking their rules,
but acting in total accord
with God's character and God's purposes.
But they couldn't see it
because they were absolutely convinced
that they had it right.
It didn't occur to them
that they were ignorant.
It didn't occur to them
that they needed to change.
No, it had to be Jesus that changed
or face the consequences.
Jesus challenges them here.
And he challenges us too
in the exact same way
to acknowledge him,
sorry,
he challenges to honor him,
to honor the Father
by acknowledging who Jesus is.
That he is who he says he is
by submitting to him,
by submitting to his teaching.
His teaching especially
on how a person
is made acceptable to God.
And look at the outcome
that Jesus wants for his opponents.
Remember,
this is a highly confrontational situation.
But rather than rage and rejection
that we have in verse 20,
you see Jesus' heart for these people.
Jesus wants them to see himself
for who he really is.
And he wants them,
verse 23,
he wants them to marvel.
Don't respond to me
in rage and rejection,
says Jesus.
If you can just step back
and look at me
for who I am,
for what I'm saying,
for what I'm offering to you,
you'll marvel at me,
you'll welcome me.
There's nothing to be frightened of
in me,
says Jesus.
There's much to be loved.
If only you can see it.
If only you can accept it.
And marveling,
verse 23,
will result in honoring.
If we're to marvel at the Lord,
as I've already suggested earlier
in my introduction,
if we're to marvel at God
and honor him,
then we must allow our minds
and attitudes
and understanding
to be molded by Jesus.
And this includes,
again I say,
when we get to it,
his uncomfortable
and unfashionable teaching,
which is what Jesus moves on
to spell out next.
So statement two
about equality.
My desire is to move people
from death to eternal life.
And that eternal life,
says Jesus,
is available only on me.
Verse 24.
Truly, truly,
there's that rabbinic
formal statement again.
Listen up, you guys.
I say to you,
whoever, 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.
Now,
that's a wonderful promise
in its own right.
So we've got to put
a couple of things here together
to appreciate the promise.
The Father and Son
are totally united
in the reality
that there will be
a day of judgment,
a day of accounting
for our sin
and how we treated the Lord.
That comes out
in those previous verses,
verses 22.
So the concept of judgment
or that day of accounting
is put on the table.
Now, here's the beauty
of the promise.
No sooner has Jesus
and the Father
put this big thing,
this day of accounting
on the table
than verse 24.
He immediately offers
as a way to escape
that judgment.
How good is that?
He says,
yes, there will be
a day of judgment
and it's going to be
a fearsome day.
Now, let me tell you
what you need to do
to escape God's judgment
and be safe.
It's amazing
the generosity
with which he continues
to respond
to these Jewish
religious leaders
and to us
down the track.
So Jesus promises
that anybody,
that word doesn't need
explanation,
includes everybody here,
anybody,
anybody
who hears his word,
that is,
the word being
the whole message
of Jesus,
that salvation
and acceptance
with God
and new life
is not earned
by doing religious things
and keeping rules,
but is received
as a gift
through simple belief
and trust in Jesus.
Wow.
Which of those
two alternatives
would you rather go for?
Whoever hears his word
and believes,
believes what?
Well, it's not just
a sort of loose
mental ascent,
but it's believes
what Jesus is teaching,
believes what he's showing
and demonstrating
that the Father and Son
are working together
to move people
from death to life.
That is their desire,
that is their purpose
in salvation.
That is the whole reason
Jesus came into the world
in his rescue mission
to move spiritually dead people
to life.
marvelling and honouring
is great,
but the ultimate response
to Jesus
must be this sort of belief,
faith and trust,
that my acceptance
with God
is determined by Jesus,
not by my performance
of religious rights
or rules.
and that person
then already
has eternal life
and will never,
ever
experience
God's judgment.
Now,
we've got to look
at the text again
carefully here.
Lots of people
take it one way,
lots of people
take it another way.
I think the way
I want to take it
is this,
that the fact
that a person
hears and believes
are not steps
towards receiving
eternal life,
but evidence
that you already
have eternal life.
So, in other words,
the reason we can
actually hear and believe
is because
God's already
done a work
in our life.
It's a much
stronger concept,
I think.
What a wonderful
promise.
And the receiving
of eternal life
guarantees we'll
never face
God's judgment.
Now,
I want to say to you,
it's a very simple
promise.
And then follow on
immediately by saying,
and you know,
it's the simplicity
of the promise
that we often
trip over.
We struggle
to believe
that Jesus
can give us
so much
in terms of
forgiveness
from sin,
acceptance
with God,
a new life
and relationship
with God.
We struggle
to believe
that Jesus
can give us
all that
at no cost.
Like the Jewish
religious leaders,
we actually feel
more comfortable
and prefer
to put our
confidence
for acceptance
with God
in a mixture
of Jesus
and our own
goodness
and our
religious actions
because that
makes us feel
better.
It sort of
takes all the
emphasis off
Jesus delivering
so much
and it's a
combined effort
and that's
what we prefer
because that's
how life
operates here
in our world.
But God
says,
no,
that's not
how it works
in my economy.
That,
in fact,
says the Lord,
is to dishonor
me
and it's
ultimately
to disbelieve
God,
to say that
Jesus himself
can go a bit
and then we
have to do
our own bit
alongside,
that actually
ultimately
dishonors God.
And yet,
here we are,
so many people
believe they can
ignore Jesus
and simply have
this sort of
generalized view
of God
and say,
well,
okay,
I believe in God
and at the end
of my life
when I die
and stand before him,
yes,
my goodness
and my belief
in God
will be enough
to get me
over the line
and I'll be
in heaven.
And Jesus
doesn't even
figure.
Or people
think Jesus
is a savior
and this is
more in churches.
People say
Jesus is savior
but I know
people who
believe that
Jesus is savior
but I actually
don't believe
he's God.
Or people
think that
Jesus is a
great teacher
and as a
great teacher
then I can
cherry pick
those moral
principles
that he's
shown and
demonstrated
so well
and so
capably
because they
endure across
the generations
but I don't
need to think
about Jesus
as God
and savior
and judge.
And so we
go back
to the
introduction
again.
These ideas
we just
take on board
and we
think we're
safe
but in
actual fact
the ideas
we're taking
on board
are opposites.
They're
exclusive
of one
another
according to
Jesus'
teaching.
See many
who claim
to be
Christians
have a
professed
belief
in needing
Jesus for
salvation
but then
their actual
belief
drives them
to continue
building their
acceptance
before God
on the base
of their own
goodness
their own
religious
actions.
And I'd be
very surprised
if there's
not more
than a few
here
who are
exactly in
that position.
Professed
belief
yes I'm
saved by
Jesus.
Actual
belief
I need
to do
things
to be
more
acceptable
to
Jesus
in
fear
of
judgment
ahead.
And that
traps many
Christians
doesn't it?
We say
on the one
hand that
yes I do
believe the
gospel.
I do
believe I
have forgiveness.
I do
believe I
have eternal
life.
I do
believe that
Jesus saved
me.
Yet we
live in
fear of
God's hand
of judgment
falling upon
us and it
debilitates
us.
Well what
about that
sin back
then or
what about
these sins
now or
what about
the sin I
haven't yet
committed?
And we
sort of say
on the one
hand yes I
believe that
I've been
saved I've
been given
new life and
I'll never
have to
experience God's
judgment but
the actual
belief makes
us live in
fear.
sin.
Since Jesus
is God then
he has power
and authority
to keep the
promise he
makes here in
verse 24.
Including
delivering on
eternal life
and guaranteeing
that we will
never ever face
the judgment of
God in the
future.
Statement
three.
Your response
to Jesus
now determines
how your
life story
will end.
So this is
one of those
stories you
know with
kids books
and I'm
getting
reacquainted
with that
sort of
stuff.
This is one
of those
stories where
you can
choose your
ending.
And verses
25 through
to 29 will
either be a
fantastic comfort
and promise
or a dire
warning.
And so that's
going to divide
us here now
this morning.
So you're
all out there
well some of
you are
listening to
me or
still listening
to me or
maybe once
were listening
to me.
Whatever.
But you
see these
verses are
going to
divide us
because the
verses are
going to talk
about God's
judgment in
relation to
where we are
now.
and the
way your
story will
end depends
on whether
you accept
Jesus and
believe in
him or
you reject
him.
It's that
simple.
There isn't
a third
alternative.
Verse 25
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 to
life.
A
saviour
Jesus has
power and
authority to
give spiritually
dead people
new life and
relationship with
God.
That as my
previous point
was that's
God's desire
desire,
that's the
father's
desire,
that's the
son's
desire,
that's what
they're
working on
in harmony
to move
people who
are spiritually
dead to
life.
But this
also means
that Jesus
is the
judge because
in giving
people new
life he makes
a judgment
about them,
he stamps
them never
again to
be considered
for God's
judgment.
no longer
under
judgment,
Romans 8,
no longer
under
condemnation.
So the
act of
saving involves
the act of
judging.
Now we
don't actually
see that so
much now when
we're actually
talking about
Jesus and
responding.
But verse
28 and
29, that
reality, which
is sort of
covered a
little bit when
we're just
offering people
the gospel,
that reality
will be seen
at the end
of the world,
verse 28 and
29.
on the
great and
final day of
judgment when
Jesus will
divide all
people into
two groups.
And it's
very clear what
the two groups
are.
Those who have
done good,
those who have
done evil.
Now, our
natural tendency
again is to
immediately think
of our
performance.
But that's not
what these words
mean here in
the context.
Good here in
the context is
those who have
believed in the
Lord Jesus
Christ.
as the basis
of acceptance
before God.
Evil are those
who have
believed in
their own
merits, in
their own
religious actions
as the basis
of acceptance
before God.
God.
And so, at that
great day of
judgment will
be a very
simple matter.
Jesus will
call all people
from their
graves across
all the
generations.
And here's
the either or
alternative.
Either he
will greet you
warmly and
welcome you
into heaven and
full enjoyment of
the life that you
now enjoy in
him because
you've believed
in him.
Or he
will greet
you formally
and coldly
as a
formidable
judge and
he'll say to
you, go to
hell.
Because you
dared to
reject me.
Now, this is
the uncomfortable
and unfashionable
truth I
mentioned earlier.
Because you
see, we don't
like the idea of
judgment in our
world.
When people are
challenged about
anything these
days, what's the
standard response?
Don't judge me.
Don Carson
says the most
favorite verse in
the Bible for
Christians used to
be John 3, 16.
But now he
says, Matthew 7,
verse 1, don't
judge me or
you'll be judged.
Very sad, isn't
it?
We don't like
judgment.
We do it when we
can to avoid the
concept of
judgment.
We refuse to
be accountable of
our actions by
allowing other
people to make a
judgment upon our
actions.
It's a very
uncomfortable
truth.
that that's
exactly what
Jesus says will
happen.
We play it
down, we
avoid it, but
it's a key
role in Jesus
achieving God's
salvation purpose.
It's not going to
go away just
because we don't
like it.
It's not going to
go away just
because it's
unfashionable.
a savior, Jesus
is also king
and a key role
of ruling, as
I've said before,
is judging,
discerning between
this one and
that one.
But at the same
time, it's also a
wonderfully positive
truth because it
means that everyone
here this morning
has the opportunity
to sort the
future, your
future, right
now.
And isn't
that what we
long for?
I'm hearing
people all the
time and it's
in my own
heart.
We just wish
that we could
secure the
future.
We plan for
the future in
terms of
savings.
We long for
the future to
be good.
We long for
the future to
have security
for us.
People invest
time and energy
and money
consulting those
who claim to
be able to
predict the
future, whether
scientists or
witches.
we're geared.
We've got that
deep longing
within us to
settle the
future.
And by the
way, I
wasn't saying
scientists and
witches were the
same there.
I see one
scientist up
the back having
a bit of
smile.
They're polar
opposites.
But rationale
versus
irrational.
All right, I'll
talk to you
afterwards,
Adam.
And the
other 27
scientists.
I didn't.
Yeah, okay.
But you
see, we're
hardwired.
for eternity.
We get so
often get trapped
into seeking
security for the
future in our
own effort.
And all the
while, Jesus
said, look,
come to me,
and this
morning, your
future can be
sorted.
So Jesus
says to us
this morning,
yes, I am
equal with God.
But he also
says, I'm the
man you
cannot ignore.
or maybe he'll
give it a
second go.
I'm the man
you can only
ignore at your
own peril.
Because at the
end of the day,
says Jesus,
when you die,
and that final
judgment comes,
my voice will
be the first
thing you will
hear consciously
after your
death.
And that voice
will either say
to you,
every one of us
here this morning
will either say
to you,
welcome home
on the basis
that you
believed in me
and trusted in
me for acceptance
before God,
or will say,
go to hell.
Let me pray.
Lord, these
are big words,
heavy words,
and yet exciting
words.
Help us,
Lord, to walk
through them
carefully,
sensing the
awe of them,
but walk
through them,
Lord, with
excitement and
confidence,
knowing that you
want to move us
from death to
life.
You want us to
be settled in
respect to the
future, and that
both those things
are achieved by
belief and trust
and living under
the lordship of
the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Help us to see
that, Lord.
Help us to
respond, not just
in marvel and
honor, but to
believe.
Amen.