Well, this morning as we come to the Word of God, we're back to the story of Jesus in the Gospel of John.
We're in chapter 12, verse 42.
If you have your Bible, you can open it up to that.
If you don't, you can grab one of the black Bibles in the pews there, or it'll be on the screen for the most part today.
Where we're at in the story, it's the Passion Week.
And the hour of Jesus' betrayal and death is drawing near.
Therefore, right before this passage that we're coming to this morning, we heard John give a kind of summary of how things are going.
Verse 37.
Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.
And we wrestled with the difficult reason why, given by John in verses 39 and 40.
For this reason they could not believe, said John.
Because as Isaiah says elsewhere, he has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts.
But this is not the end of John's summary.
Verse 42.
Yet, says John, at the same time, many, even among the leaders, believed in Jesus.
But because of the Pharisees, they would not openly acknowledge their faith.
For fear they would be put out of the synagogue.
So for a moment here, John seems to be doubling back on what he said earlier.
Don't get the wrong idea here.
It's not as though nobody believed in Jesus.
It's not as though it was just a scarce few.
Actually, says John, many believed in him.
There were even some among the rulers.
The word used here is a clear reference to the Sanhedrin.
And this is maybe a little bit surprising, isn't it?
I mean, in just the previous chapter, chapter 11, we heard that the Sanhedrin officially and formally decided to oppose Jesus.
They began plotting to take his life.
That back in 11 verse 53.
And so it would seem that since then, the opinion of some of these Sanhedrin members has shifted.
They've watched as Jesus was paraded into Jerusalem by this massive crowd of people.
They've been hearing him speak and teach daily in the temple courts.
And they have even seen him perform some of these signs, no doubt, as John has been telling us back up in verse 37.
Well, this sounds great, doesn't it?
Even some of the leaders, the high-ups of the Jewish rulers, are believing in Jesus now.
But hold on.
Not so fast.
They're believing in Jesus, but, says John, because of the Pharisees, they would not openly acknowledge their faith.
For fear that they would be put out of the synagogue.
Let's remember here that there are different kinds of people on the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin.
Some of them are Pharisees, and they represent the dominant religious order of the day.
The others may be more like politicians, or officials, or significant people in Jewish society.
Not that they were totally unreligious.
I mean, almost everybody was religious in this culture, in this setting.
But many of the people who were not of the Pharisees might have been more like the Sadducees.
Men who were religious, but not too concerned about the spiritual things.
All things in moderation.
So this many who believed in Jesus, which includes some of the Sanhedrin,
they're keeping their lips sealed about Jesus.
Why?
Because they don't want to be excommunicated or banished from the synagogue.
It's here we see the religious control that the Pharisees have over the people.
They were the ones in the positions of religious authority in the nation.
And they were threatening to revoke membership in the worshiping community to anyone who supported Jesus.
And I can't help at this point to feel some sympathy for them.
You know, we see this kind of thing all the time in our world today.
Agree with us, or we'll cancel you.
We'll kick you out.
We'll revoke your membership.
And as bad as it seems in our political and cultural settings today,
this is far worse.
This is tantamount to saying,
you will be cut off from the people of God
if you confess openly
that Jesus is any one of the big titles that are in view here.
Son of God.
Messiah.
Son of Man.
So I feel some sympathy for them.
They seemingly have a lot to lose, these leaders who believed.
But then, John, by the Spirit of God, gives us God's evaluation
of what's really going on here.
I'll read the whole thing again.
Yet at the same time, many, even among the leaders, believed in him.
But because of the Pharisees,
they would not openly acknowledge their faith
for fear they would be put out of the synagogue.
For they loved human praise
more than praise from God.
Literally, they loved the glory of men
more than the glory of God.
They loved to be in good standing with people,
with each other.
They loved to receive the honor and glory
that comes from other people
more than they loved to be in good standing with God
and receive the honor and glory that comes from him.
Now, this kind of raises a big question, doesn't it?
Is the faith of these many who believed really genuine?
Is it sufficient?
Are they in?
True followers of Jesus?
Is this the kind of faith or belief
by which they can be saved?
Or is this questionable faith?
Is this shallow, lacking faith?
It's not as easy a question to answer
as we might think.
At first glance, their faith in Jesus
seems genuine enough.
John sets these believers in contrast
with the people who did not believe
even after seeing so many signs.
In verse 37.
But then,
is their faith genuine?
If what the Pharisees
say
is controlling their final behavior
more than what Jesus is saying?
Do they really believe in Jesus?
Or are they kind of going back and forth
with what's popular
at the moment?
This is probably a good time to remember
that John has told us before
about some people
who have believed in Jesus
and yet their faith
seemed suspect,
lacking,
questionable.
Look back at John chapter 2.
This was Jesus' first ministry visit
right after his baptism
to Jerusalem.
And it's there,
we read that while Jesus was in Jerusalem
at the Passover festival,
many people saw the signs
he was performing
and believed in his name.
But Jesus would not entrust himself
to them
for he knew all men.
He did not need any testimony
about men
for he knew what was in a man
or in each person.
There was something not quite right
about the belief of the people
back then
on that visit to Jerusalem.
And Nicodemus,
at least back then,
seemed to be an example of this.
He believed that Jesus
was at least a teacher
who had come from God
and yet according to Jesus' own words,
Nicodemus was not accepting
and believing the things
that Jesus was saying
as he should be.
we ran across this sort of thing again
in John chapter 8 verse 31.
John tells us there that
to the Jews who had believed him,
Jesus said,
if you hold to my teaching,
you are really my disciples.
Then you will know the truth
and the truth will set you free.
But then we saw that
by the end of that conversation,
Jesus was calling these same people
children of their father,
the devil,
and these people were trying
to stone Jesus
to death.
Again,
the sort of belief in Jesus
that seems superficial,
questionable.
Is that what's going on here again
with these
many who believed in Jesus
even from among the leaders?
Now,
some of you might be thinking,
well,
if John says they believed,
then they believed.
They're saved.
I mean,
do they really have to confess it openly
to prove that
that's what's really going on
in their hearts?
That's a big question.
I can't help but think of
what Paul says
in Romans chapter 10
verse 8 to 10.
This is what he said
to the church at Rome.
But what does it say?
The word is near you.
It is in your mouth
and in your heart.
That is the message
concerning faith
that we proclaim.
If you declare with your mouth
Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.
For it is with your heart
that you believe
and are justified,
and it is with your mouth
that you profess your faith
or confess
and are saved.
Here,
according to Paul,
it seems that
confessing Jesus
with your mouth
as the Lord
is inseparable
from genuinely believing.
Or to put it another way,
the promise of salvation
is made to those
who confess
with their mouths
and believe
in their hearts.
Both go together.
And so this also
might call into question
the faith of these many
whom John is talking about.
Do they really believe
in their hearts
if they are unwilling
to confess Jesus
with their mouths?
Now maybe when it says
that they were not
confessing Jesus,
it means that they were
not confessing him
within the circles
of the Sanhedrin
and the Pharisees.
The really public,
sort of confession.
Perhaps they were still
confessing him
amongst their close
friends and family.
Maybe the faith
of some of these people
or even all of them
is genuine,
but they've just not yet
found the courage
to declare it publicly,
given the hostility
and the grave consequences.
But then on the other hand,
the reason John gives us
is not so sympathetic.
For they loved
the glory of men
more
than the glory of God.
Maybe some of you
might be ready
to make a judgment here.
Surely if they love
the glory of men
more than the glory of God,
well that's the answer
right there.
How can their faith
be genuine?
It must be superficial.
It must be shallow.
It must be lacking.
But then I would say,
was not Peter
loving the praise of men
more than the praise of God
the night that he denied
the Lord Jesus three times?
On the night of Jesus' betrayal?
Israel?
And yet surely
he had real,
genuine faith
long before that.
What can we learn
from all this?
I hope that as you
listen to the back and forth here,
you realize that it's
not always easy
to judge
the faith
of another person.
Or to evaluate
where another person
really stands
before God.
God.
Now of course
there are some people
who obviously
don't believe in Jesus
no matter what
they're saying.
It's just obvious
because the whole pattern
of their lives
is just to ignore
the things that Jesus
has said
and to disobey
the things Jesus
has commanded.
We're not talking
about those people.
Neither are we
talking about those
who obviously
do believe in Jesus,
who declare it,
confess it,
and whose lives
confirm it
undeniably,
consistently.
In both of these cases
it's obvious
what these people believe.
But now the people
we're talking about
this morning,
they either claim
to believe in Jesus
but their lives
look a little
suspect.
Or
their lives look
really good.
they seem kind,
they do and say
all the right sorts
of things at church
and amongst Christians
but for some reason
they don't want to
seem to confess
Jesus
too publicly
because of what
others might think.
We really need
humility
to admit
that it's not
always easy
to evaluate
the faith
of another person.
To make that
judgment
about where
another person
stands before God.
Are they in
or are they not?
Are they saved
or are they not?
Are they genuine
or are they
really good
at pretending?
There are times
in the Bible
where God
calls us
to make this
judgment.
Let's make no
mistake about that.
Specifically
when it comes time
to appoint elders
in the church
we're to appoint
believers
and to do that
we need to make
that evaluation
in matters of
marriage and divorce
in church discipline.
But thankfully
the good news
is that when it
comes to that
final judgment
of whether a person
is a believer
a true believer
or not
the good news is
it's not up to us.
It's not ultimately
our call to make.
it's God's.
He alone
knows
what's going on
in the hearts
of individual people.
Consider the words
of Proverbs 21
verse 2.
A person may think
their own ways
are right
but the Lord
weighs the heart.
That's a verse
that should cause us
to tremble a little bit.
It basically says
that God knows
better than you do
why you do
what you do.
In other words
it's quite possible
for us
to be self-deceived.
Let's look at
what God said
long ago
through the prophet
Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 17
verse 9 and 10.
The heart is deceitful
above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
I
the Lord
search
the heart
and examine
the mind
to reward
each person
according to
their conduct
according to
what their deeds
deserve.
Paul says it
this way
in 1 Corinthians
chapter 4
verse 5.
He says
therefore judge
nothing before
the appointed time
wait until
the Lord
comes.
He will bring
to light
what is hidden
in darkness
and will expose
the motives
of the heart.
At that time
each
will receive
their praise
from God.
So at the end
of all this
we need to take
a step back.
We need to admit
that truly
only God
knows
whether these
people here
in this passage
were true
believers
and were
saved
even many
among the
leaders
are not.
But not only
that we may
need to take
a step back
in our own
evaluations
of the people
around us
who we know
and admit
that only God
truly knows
whether some
of them
today
truly believe
and are
saved.
Now I'm not
suggesting that we
all begin to
look around the
room here
and ponder
whether some
of us are
pretenders
or not.
I'm not
suggesting that
we either
that we can't
be sure
about people.
What I am
saying
is that
there should
be some
pause
in our
hearts
when we
see a
brother or
sister in
Christ
who seems
hesitant
or resistant
to living
in obedience
to the
commands
of Christ.
We should
be slow
hesitant
careful
as we look
at a brother
or sister
in Christ
who seems
unwilling
to confess
Jesus
openly
as their
Lord.
In these
cases
time will
tell.
As Paul
said to
Timothy
2 Timothy
2 verse
19
The Lord
knows
those who
are his
and everyone
who confesses
the name of
the Lord
must turn
away from
wickedness.
Now it's
easy for us
to look around
at other
people we
know
think about
them
evaluate
their faith
maybe
but far
more important
a passage
like this
calls us
to consider
our own
belief
in Jesus.
I wonder
what do you
think the
people in
this church
would say
about your
faith
in Jesus?
Would they
say that
it's obvious
that you
genuinely
believe
and belong
to Christ?
And why
would they
say that?
Or why
not?
Or might
they say
like
when we
look at
these people
that John's
talking about
I'm not
so sure.
And why
or why
wouldn't
they say
that?
And then
we should
probably
consider
that what
other people
think of
your faith
is not
the most
important
evaluation.
Do we
care more
about what
each other
thinks
of us
or about
what God
knows
about us?
Let me
ask you
this question
on behalf
of the
Lord.
Do you
know
that God
knows
the real
you?
You
just
might be
able to
fool other
people.
Probably
not
because we
all have
blind spots
and it's
not too
hard to
see when
someone else
has ketchup
on their
face even
though they
don't realize
it.
But even
if somehow
you manage
to fool
other
people,
you cannot
fool
God.
He knows
the real
you.
He knows
what's going
on in your
heart.
Do you
know that
God knows
you even
better than
you know
yourself?
With that
in mind,
let me ask
you the
real question.
do you
believe that
Jesus is
the Son
of God?
Do you
believe that
he is
the Messiah,
the King
that God
has chosen
for the
kingdom of
heaven?
Do you
believe the
things that
Jesus is
saying through
all these
gospel accounts,
Matthew,
Mark,
Luke,
John?
Do you
take those
words with
absolute
seriousness
to your
heart?
God
knows if
you do.
Listen,
there's a
very real
sense in
which it
just doesn't
matter what
other people
think of
you,
whether you're
a full-blown
Jesus freak
in their
view or
not.
Because at
the end of
the story,
at the end
of your
life,
when Jesus
returns,
there's only
one person's
evaluation of
you that
matters,
and it's
Jesus'
evaluation of
you.
Listen to
what Jesus
said,
Matthew 7,
21.
He said,
not everyone
who says to
me,
Lord,
will enter
the kingdom
of heaven,
but only the
one who does
the will
of my
father who
is in
heaven.
Many will
say to
me on
that day,
Lord,
did we not
prophesy in
your name,
and in
your name
drive out
demons,
and in
your name
perform many
miracles?
Then I
will tell
them plainly,
said Jesus,
I never
knew you.
Away from
me,
you
evildoers.
this is
why the
apostle Paul
spoke with
all seriousness
to the
church at
Corinth,
the believers
there,
and said
this,
examine
yourselves
to see
whether you
are in
the faith.
Test
yourselves.
Do you
not realize
that Christ
Jesus is in
you,
unless,
of course,
you fail
the test?
your
eternal
destiny is
on the
line.
Heaven
and hell
is on
the line.
Let's
come back
to Romans
chapter 10,
verse 9
and 10.
There is
assurance,
there is
confidence
that we
can have,
and this
is where
I find
it.
If you
declare with
your mouth,
Jesus is
Lord,
and believe
in your
heart that
God raised
him from
the dead,
you will
be saved.
For it
is with
your heart
that you
believe and
are justified,
and it
is with
your mouth
that you
profess your
faith and
are saved,
both
together,
in the
heart,
on the
lips.
Based on
these words
of God
which came
through Paul,
we should
not think
that merely
saying the
words,
I believe
in Jesus
is enough.
God's not
looking for
mere lip
service.
He's looking
for genuine
belief in
your heart.
Not perfect
faith,
not perfect
belief,
but genuine
faith,
genuine
belief.
And the
other side of
that coin is
true as well.
We should
not think that
merely believing
in our hearts
privately,
quietly,
personally,
is enough.
Genuine faith
in the heart,
it will,
it must result
in confessing
Christ openly
with your
mouth.
Or to put it
another way,
if you are
unwilling to
confess that
Jesus is
Lord with
your mouth,
he most
certainly isn't
the Lord of
your heart.
God.
And so I
ask you this
morning,
do you
believe in
Jesus?
Do you
believe that
he is
the Lord,
your
master,
the king,
sent from
heaven by
the father,
the one who
will judge
all of us
someday,
Jesus was
known to be
quite direct
on occasion.
This is what
he said one
day to a
crowd of many
thousands who
were gathered
around him.
I tell you,
my friends,
do not be
afraid of those
who kill the
body,
and after that
can do no
more.
But I will
show you whom
you should
fear.
Fear him
who after
your body
has been
killed has
authority to
throw you
into hell.
Yes,
I tell you,
fear him.
The glory
and the praise
that comes from
other people
is massively
overrated.
The well-done,
good,
and faithful
servant
that comes from
God
is all
that matters.
Maybe you're
here today
and you
know that
you have
been at
times,
maybe even
recently,
a coward,
where you've
said or
done something
recently that
really does
show that
you care more
about what
other people
will say
about you
than about
what God
will say
about you.
the good
news of
Jesus
is that
he will
forgive you.
He is
merciful.
If you
confess that
to him,
if you ask
for his
forgiveness,
that's why
Jesus went
to the cross
and died,
to atone
for our
sins.
I think
of Peter.
he denied
the Lord
three times
on the
night of
Jesus'
betrayal.
If the
Lord Jesus
forgave
Peter,
he will
forgive you
and me
if we
ask.
He is
rich in
mercy.
Let me
end this
morning
by reminding
us of
the words
that Peter
said in
his letter.
After all
that was
over,
but in
your hearts,
he said,
revere
Christ as
Lord.
Always
being ready
to give an
answer to
everyone who
asks you
to give the
reason for
the hope
that you
have.
And so
may the
word about
Jesus be
near
us,
each one
of us
in our
hearts
and in
our mouths.
Let's
pray.
Father in
heaven,
these are
sobering
realities
that we've
been talking
about this
morning.
And we
thank you
that your
word brings
conviction
and that you
do expose
what's really
going on in
our hearts.
You know it
already and you
expose it so
that we can
see it too.
we ask for
your forgiveness
for all the
times in
which we've
cared more
about praise
from other
people than
about the
commendation
that you
would give
us,
Lord.
Forgive us.
Teach us to
live for you
and your glory
alone,
to worship you
and you alone.
thank you for
Jesus.
Thank you for
sending him
and thank you
for the
amazing thing
that he has
done for us
that we can
be forgiven
and without
guilt,
pure and
holy,
righteous even
in your sight
because of
him.
We love
him.
We love
you so
much.
It's in
his precious
name we pray.
Amen.