Perfect Obedience

Amen. Please remain standing with us as we read the Word of God this morning.

We're continuing our series in the Gospel of John, and so I invite you to take your Bibles, open them up.

If you're using the Pew Bibles there in front of you, this is on page 839.

We want to quite literally be on the same page this morning as we're looking to God's Word.

And so I invite you to follow along and listen to me as I read John 7, verses 1 through 36 this morning.

John 7:1–36

After this, Jesus went about in Galilee.

He would not go about in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill him.

Now the Jews' feast of booths was at hand, so his brothers said to him,

Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples may also see the works you are doing.

For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly.

If you do these things, show yourself to the world.

For not even his brothers believed in him.

Jesus said to them,

My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.

The world cannot hate you, but it hates me,

because I testify about it, that its works are evil.

You go up to the feast.

I am not going up to this feast,

for my time has not yet fully come.

After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

But after his brothers had gone up to the feast,

then he also went up, not publicly, but in private.

The Jews were looking for him at the feast and saying,

Where is he?

And there was much muttering about him among the people.

While some said, He is a good man, others said,

No, he is leading the people astray.

Yet for fear of the Jews, no one spoke openly of him.

About the middle of the feast,

Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching.

The Jews therefore marveled, saying,

How is it that this man has learning when he has never studied?

So Jesus answered them,

My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.

If anyone's will is to do God's will,

he will know whether the teaching is from God,

or whether I am speaking on my own authority.

The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory,

but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true.

And in him there is no falsehood.

Has not Moses given you the law?

Yet none of you keeps the law.

Why do you seek to kill me?

The crowd answered,

You have a demon.

Who is seeking to kill you?

Jesus answered them,

I did one work, and you all marvel at it.

Moses gave you circumcision,

not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers.

And you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.

If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision,

so that the law of Moses may not be broken,

are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a whole man's body well?

Well, do not judge by appearances,

but judge with right judgment.

Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said,

Is not this the man whom they seek to kill?

And here he is speaking openly,

and they say nothing to him.

Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ?

But we know where this man comes from,

and when the Christ appears,

no one will know where he comes from.

So Jesus proclaimed as he taught in the temple,

You know me, and you know where I come from,

but I have not come of my own accord.

He who sent me is true,

and him you do not know.

I know him,

for I come from him,

and he sent me.

So they were seeking to arrest him,

but no one laid a hand on him,

because his hour had not yet come.

Yet many of the people believed in him.

They said,

When the Christ appears,

will he do more signs than this man has done?

The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him,

and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him.

Jesus then said,

I will be with you a little longer,

and then I am going to him who sent me.

You will seek me,

and you will not find me.

Where I am,

you cannot come.

The Jews said to one another,

Where does this man intend to go,

that we will not find him?

Does he intend to go to the dispersion among the Greeks,

and teach the Greeks?

What does he mean by saying,

You will seek me,

and you will not find me?

And,

Where I am,

you cannot come.

This is the word of God.

You would please be seated.

Let's pray once more.

Father,

we ask once more

for your power

through the preaching of the word,

through your spirit,

that you would

grant us the desire

to will the will of God,

to hear it,

to receive it,

to love it,

that we would trust more deeply in Christ this morning.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

How thankful are you

for the obedience

of Christ?

I wonder if you had one last opportunity

to give thanks to God.

Of all the many things

that you could say,

what would you choose

to thank him for?

Most of us,

I assume,

we might thank him

for the gifts

that he's given us.

Good gifts of family,

of friends,

of a church family,

of a home,

of his provision for us.

Maybe we would thank him

for leading us,

for guiding us,

for being with us.

Maybe we would thank him

for the death of Christ

on our behalf,

for his resurrection

from the grave.

All good answers.

There's more than one

good, right answer

to that question.

But I wonder

how many of you

would think

specifically

to thank him

for the obedience

of Jesus.

In December of 1936,

the great Presbyterian leader,

J. Gresham Machen,

ignored his doctor's orders

and continued to minister

to the Orthodox Presbyterians

there in South Dakota

despite the pains

in his chest

from pneumonia.

And within a day,

he was hospitalized.

And by New Year's Day,

January 1st, 1937,

he was gone.

But as he lay there

before he drew

his final breath,

he dictated his final words,

his last words,

in a telegram sent

to his friend,

John Murray.

And here's what he said.

I am so thankful

for the active obedience

of Christ.

No hope without it.

I am so thankful

for the active obedience

of Christ.

No hope without it.

The active obedience

of Christ.

This crucial aspect

of our salvation

that is unfortunately

so often either overlooked

or overshadowed

by all of the other

glorious benefits

and aspects of the gospel,

but without it,

without the perfect obedience

of Christ

to the will of God,

there can be no salvation

for sinners like us.

What I want to do

this morning

from John chapter 7

John 7 · chapter mention

is hopefully,

by the grace of God,

broaden our understanding

of the gospel

to include not only

Jesus' death on the cross,

not only his resurrection,

but the 33 years

of perfect obedience

to the will of God

that preceded the death

and resurrection of Christ.

Our passage this morning

in John chapter 7,

John 7 · chapter mention

it shows us

the deep commitment

of Jesus Christ

to the will of God the Father.

It is a demonstration

of Jesus' perfect obedience,

all of it from beginning to end,

necessary for our salvation.

So this morning,

I want us to see three ways

Jesus submitted

to the will of God.

This will be our outline

this morning.

If you're taking notes,

I encourage you to.

It's a good way to help you

to follow along this morning

with a sermon.

Three ways Jesus submitted

to the will of God.

First, Jesus perfectly followed

God's will.

Jesus perfectly followed

God's will.

Last week, we heard Jesus deliver

one of his more unpopular sermons.

Unless you eat the flesh

and drink the blood

of the Son of Man,

you have no life in you.

This is one of his

least popular messages.

He lost many disciples.

Many of his disciples

left Jesus that day.

And as John is progressing

through this gospel,

I want you to notice

he's drawing our attention,

steadily pointing our focus

to growing hostility

towards Jesus and his teachings.

people are starting to realize,

starting to pick up on the fact

that Jesus does not quite fit in

with their expectations.

Jesus isn't quite lining up

with what they want him to do

or who they want him to be.

He's not bending towards their will.

And so for some,

they simply leave him,

they reject him,

they deny him,

as we saw last week.

But for others,

the Jewish leaders in particular,

they sought to kill him.

So he says here in verse 1,

he says,

after this,

after that message,

Jesus went about in Galilee

and he would not go about in Judea.

Why?

Because the Jews were seeking

to kill him.

Now John tells us that

the Feast of Booths was at hand.

This was one of the major Jewish feasts

that celebrated the gathering

of the harvest

as well as God's provision

for the people of Israel

in the wilderness.

This feast was one of the major gatherings

of the Jewish people.

All Jews were expected to come.

They would gather there.

They would put up temporary shelters

called booths,

hence the name,

Feast of Booths.

And it would seem

like this might be

a perfect opportunity

for a rising teacher

to gain some influence

amongst the Jews.

especially a teacher

who just lost

a whole bunch of disciples.

Maybe this might be

a perfect opportunity

to regain

some of that popularity,

some of that publicity.

At least,

that's what Jesus' brothers thought.

Look there to verse 3.

John tells us,

His brothers came

and said to him,

Leave here and go to Judea

that your disciples

also may see

the works you are doing.

for no one works in secret

if he seeks to be known openly.

If you do these things,

show yourself to the world.

At first glance,

that sounds like

a really good idea,

doesn't it?

At first glance,

the will of Jesus' brothers,

their desire for Jesus here,

they say,

Jesus,

go make yourself known.

We want the whole world

to see you

and to know who you are.

Go make yourself known

to the world.

That sounds like

a good request,

doesn't it?

It sounds a lot like

what we want,

doesn't it?

Our mission as a church

is to make Jesus

really big,

to magnify the glory of God,

to draw attention

that all the world

might see who Jesus is

and worship Him

as He deserves.

So what's going on?

What's the matter

with this request?

Look to verse 5

because this is

absolutely shocking.

John tells us,

They said this

for because

not even His brothers

believed in Him.

This request,

although on the surface

it seems good,

on the surface

it seems right,

it was rooted

in unbelief.

Can we just pause here

for a moment

and feel the weight of this?

Not even His own brothers

believed in Him.

I could not imagine

another opportunity

to be nearer to Jesus,

to be closer to Him

than to be His own brother.

If you have siblings,

if you're not an only child,

if you have siblings,

you know exactly

what I'm talking about.

To be so intimately close

with Jesus,

to see Him day in,

day out,

not just publicly,

but in the privacy

of your own home,

to see Him

and yet not see Him

at all.

If this isn't an illustration

of the blinding power

of sin,

I don't know what is.

Jesus' brothers,

let them be a lesson

to us

that familiarity

with Jesus

does not equal

faith in Jesus.

His brothers

are a living lesson

of what we just read,

what we just testified

earlier this morning.

The Spirit

must give life.

The flesh

is no help

at all.

Apart from His Spirit,

we simply,

we can be as close

as we need to be,

but we cannot see Jesus

for who He is.

Not even His own brothers

believed Him.

This request

that Jesus make Himself known,

it seems on the surface

like that's a good desire,

a good request,

like this would be pleasing

to God,

but John clues us in

to their unbelief

so that we would know

something else

is going on here.

And it's possible

that they thought,

well, maybe He would do

another sign.

Maybe we would benefit

in some way

from another miracle.

Maybe they thought

His popularity,

His growing popularity

might benefit the family

in some way.

Maybe they could benefit

from His influence.

Maybe they thought

that Jesus would garner

enough influence

and support

within the community

to come and overthrow

the Romans.

Regardless of what

the exact motivation was,

we need to see,

we need to understand,

if it's coming

from a place of unbelief,

then their will

is ultimately driven

by one thing.

You know what it is?

Self.

Self-gain.

Self-glory.

To follow God's will

is to seek God's glory

in all things.

But to follow our own

sinful, selfish, sinful will

is to seek our gain,

our glory in all things.

Even if it means

using Jesus Himself

as a means to get there.

Let Jesus' brothers

be an example for us, church.

Non-believers

can get themselves

very invested

in the name of Jesus.

Non-believers

can get themselves

very excited

about the name

of Jesus.

They can fill churches.

They can sing songs.

They can take notes

during the sermon.

But at the bottom

of their hearts,

what they ultimately want

is not His glory,

but their gain.

The unbelieving heart

will come to Jesus

when they have a possibility

for selfish gain

and they will leave Him

in an instant

if that possibility

is gone.

And we've all seen this,

haven't we?

I remember in college

seeing a few guys

get real serious

about the Lord

right about the time

they started having

their eyes on some girl

in college ministry.

businessmen

coming to church

to try and drum up

a few more clients.

It's a tale

as old as time.

The unbelieving will

wants to glorify self

and it will use

any means necessary,

even the name of Jesus,

to get there.

But how does Jesus respond?

Look here

to Jesus' response.

He says,

He wants no part

of this.

So He tells His brothers,

You go on up.

He says in verse 6,

My time has not yet come.

You and your agenda,

your motives,

your desires,

they belong to the world.

There's an essential difference

between you and me.

You know what?

The world hates me.

It can't hate you.

Why?

Because you belong to it

and I don't.

I testify against it,

but you belong to it.

I'm not going up to the feast.

You go on up.

I'm not going.

But this is interesting,

isn't it?

Verse 10,

it says,

He did go up.

So what's going on here?

Did Jesus just lie

to His brothers?

He said,

I'm not going up

to the feast.

Now, verse 10,

He is going up

to the feast.

So what's going on?

Here's what I think

is happening.

John is showing us

Jesus' complete determination

to follow the will

and the plan

and the agenda of God,

not the will

and the plan

and the agenda

of sinful man.

This is an act

of defiance

against the will

and the agenda,

even the temptation

of sinful man.

He says,

My time is not here,

meaning I have

a precise plan

to follow.

I take orders

from one person,

God the Father.

Your time's always here.

Go whenever you want.

I'm not going

when you want me to go.

I'm not going

in your time,

not in your way,

not for your reasons.

You go on without me.

Now, I believe

that this is

another example

of temptation

in the life

of Jesus.

And it's incredible to me

as we read the Gospels

how alike

Jesus and us,

how alike we are

to Jesus in this way.

You know,

Jesus was tempted

daily

to cave in

to the pressures

and the temptations

all around him.

He knows exactly

what it's like

to be tempted

to follow the desires

of sinful man.

But there's one key difference.

You know what it is?

He was tempted

and tried

in every way

as we are,

yet,

help me,

yet without sin.

Jesus Christ

resisted

the temptation

to submit

to the will

of sinful flesh

and instead

perfectly followed

the will of God.

Surely,

Jesus knew

he could go

into that crowd.

He could demand

to be praised.

He knew he was

owed all the praise

and the attention

of man.

Surely,

he could go

and make himself

known right then

and there

to all the world

just like his brothers

asked,

and yet,

what does he do?

He sticks to the plan.

You remember

when the devil

took him up

on the mountain

and showed him

all the kingdoms

of the world

and said,

all the kingdoms

of the world

can be yours

if you'll simply

bow down

and worship me.

He knew

that all the kingdoms

of the world

rightly belonged

to him

and yet,

he knew

there was a plan

to be followed.

There was a God-appointed

time

to be met

for salvation

to be accomplished.

He must follow

God's will

perfectly.

So he humbled himself

and followed

the will of God.

He went up

to the feast

later in his time,

not publicly,

but John says,

in private.

He perfectly

submitted

to the will of God.

Not only this,

but second,

second,

Jesus perfectly

willed

the will

of God.

Jesus perfectly

willed

the will

of God.

Meaning,

God's will

was what Jesus

desired

more than anything.

He was perfect

not only in his

external actions,

but in his

internal desire.

One way we see this

is in the teaching

of Jesus.

It seems like

as he went up

to the feast,

there was a rumbling

there in Judea.

The Jews,

meaning the Jewish leaders,

were seeking him

at the feast,

asking where is he,

not to say hello

or to get his autograph,

but so that they

might capture him,

arrest him,

and ultimately

put him to death.

But the crowds,

thousands of Jews

there gathering

for the feast,

were all,

they were muttering

about him.

You can imagine

the kind of

thunder,

the roar of voices

as you enter Judea.

And John says,

many of them

were talking

secretly

about Jesus.

Some said,

he's a good man.

Others said,

no,

he's leading

the people astray.

This division

was mounting.

So Jesus does

as he often does

and he went

into the temple

and began

to teach.

Look there

to verse 14.

About the middle

of the feast,

Jesus went up

into the temple

and began teaching.

And the Jews,

they marveled why.

They marveled at him.

What was the reason

they're marveling

at him?

It's not because

of the content

of his message.

It was about

the origin

of his teaching.

Where did you

learn all this stuff?

Where did all

this stuff come from?

The Greek literally

there says,

how does this man

know his letters

when he's never studied?

Meaning,

he's never studied

with us.

Where is Jesus'

seminary degree from?

What rabbinical school

did Jesus go to?

Where does his teaching,

where does his knowledge go?

How does this man

learn his letters

when he hasn't studied

with us?

And Jesus says,

I'll tell you

where my teaching

comes from.

My teaching is not mine,

but it is his

who sent me.

And here it is,

verse 17.

Listen to this.

If anyone's will

is to do God's will,

he will know

whether the teaching

is from God

or whether I am speaking

on my own authority.

Did you catch that?

Let me read that again.

If anyone's will

is to do God's will,

he will know

whether the teaching

is from God

or whether I am speaking

on my own authority.

The one who speaks

on his own authority

seeks his own glory,

but the one who seeks

the glory of him

who sent him

is true,

and in him

there is no falsehood.

Here's the litmus test.

If you desire God's will,

then you will look to Christ,

listen to his words,

and by the grace of God

you will say,

yes, that is true.

Yes, those are the words of God.

Yes, he is the Christ.

Yes, that is good.

Yes, that is life.

Yes, that is from God.

But if you will your own will,

sinful, selfish,

self-exalting,

like Jesus' brothers,

like the Jewish officials,

then you will hear Jesus' words

and say,

he's speaking on his own authority.

Meaning not from God.

Human words.

Take what you like,

reject what you don't,

eat the fish,

spit out the bones.

If you desire your own will

above all else,

you might really love

what Jesus has to say

when it lines up

with what you already think

and ignore what Jesus has to say

when it disagrees

with what you already think.

If you will your own will,

at the end of the day,

what you want

reigns supreme

over the word of God.

But Jesus says,

those who will God's will,

those who truly in their heart

will thy will be done,

they receive the words of Christ

totally for what they are,

the very words of God.

Jesus says to the Jews here,

you don't desire God's will.

And I'll show it to you,

two very clear examples.

Number one,

charge number one,

you outright disobey God's word.

Lord,

you want to kill me.

Verse 19.

He says,

has not Moses given you the law

yet?

Yet none of you keeps the law.

Why do you seek to kill me?

If you love the will of God,

if you truly desire to do his will,

if you love the law,

which is God's revealed will for you,

for your obedience,

why are you right now

plotting to break the sixth commandment?

Thou shall not kill.

They denied it.

Who else?

You have a demon.

You're insane.

You're crazy.

And so he moves on.

He says,

charge number two,

you disobey God's word

and you apply God's word inconsistently.

You like it when it suits you

and you disregard it when it doesn't.

Look there to verse 21.

Jesus reminds them of his healing

of the invalid man on the Sabbath day.

Do you remember that account?

There was a man who was waiting by the pool

for someone to come

and to put him in the waters.

He'd been lying there for a number of years.

Jesus comes up and says,

sir, do you want to be made well?

He says,

I have nobody to help me.

Jesus says,

rise,

take up your mat,

walk,

get up,

you're well.

The only problem was

that was on the Sabbath day

and that did not sit well

with the rulers.

He said,

I did one work

and you all marvel at it.

Moses gave you circumcision,

not that it's from Moses,

from the fathers,

and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.

If on the Sabbath,

a man receives circumcision

so that the law of Moses

may not be broken,

are you angry with me

because on the Sabbath,

I made a whole man's body well?

Well,

don't judge by appearances,

but judge with right judgment.

Are you following Jesus' logic here?

It was commanded in the law of God

that every male child born

had to be circumcised on the eighth day

and so the question had to be answered,

well,

what happens if that eighth day

falls on the Sabbath?

Do we wait till the ninth day?

Do we do it a day early

or do we break that Sabbath law?

You see my parentheses here.

It's not breaking it.

Do we break that Sabbath law

and circumcise the child

on the eighth day?

And they determined

that they would, in fact,

uphold that eighth day ordinance

even if it fell on the Sabbath day.

And from that conclusion,

the Jews determined

that all acts of mercy

would be permitted on the Sabbath.

If a child needed to be circumcised

on the Sabbath day,

it would be done.

If a sheep would fall into a pit,

they would pull him out

on the Sabbath day.

But Jesus says,

if that's the case,

why are you trying to kill me

for making a whole man's body well

on the Sabbath day?

You are inconsistently applying

God's word.

Why?

Because at the bottom

of your unbelieving hearts

is your sinful will,

not God's will.

Thomas Jefferson,

you may know,

infamously made an abridged version

of the New Testament

called the Jefferson Bible.

Are you familiar with this?

where he took six copies

of the New Testament

in Greek, Latin, French, and English,

and he literally cut and pasted

what he determined together

to be the core essential teachings

of Jesus.

And it was that self-curated,

mutilated book

that became his nightly reading.

And what amounted to 86 pages

of self-approved doctrine,

the rest of it

hit the cutting room floor.

86 pages.

86 pages

that met his approval.

Now we may hear that

and scoff

and shake our heads at that,

but we have to realize

that all of us

are prone

to that same sort

of redactive reading

of the word of God.

Martin Luther,

give you another example.

He famously loved

the letters of Paul.

You know what he called

the letter that James wrote?

He said it was

an epistle of straw.

It didn't have one ounce

of pure gospel doctrine in it.

Now I've spoken with brothers

who have said something similar.

They said,

well, I actually,

I get along with Jesus

in the gospels.

I really like James.

I resonate with him,

but I have a hard time

getting along with Paul.

All of us

need to be on guard

and aware of this tendency

in our hearts.

Did our sinful hearts

stand at the ready

with scissors open,

prepared to cut out

whatever it is

we don't like

about Christ

and his words?

We need to be on guard,

church.

We know that our society,

our culture,

stands at the ready

with scissors open,

telling us every day

something new

that would probably be better

cut out and left

on the cutting room floor.

Keep the stuff about heaven,

but why don't we cut out

these hard teachings

about hell?

Keep the gentle,

loving Christ,

but cut out the exclusivity

of salvation

in Christ alone.

Cut out the sovereignty

of God.

Why don't we cut out

our complete inability

to earn or even will

our salvation

apart from his grace?

Cut marriage?

Cut gender?

Cut sexuality?

Cut justice?

Cut holiness?

Cut sin?

Cut repentance?

What are we left with?

exactly what we

wanted to hear?

We have to constantly

remember, church,

that our reception

of the word of God

shouldn't be shaped

by our will,

our desires,

our preferences.

Rather,

we want our will

to be shaped

by God's word,

God's will,

God's preferences.

Those who will

the will of God

want the Holy Spirit

to cut out of us

anything

that does not conform

to the will of God.

But the honest truth

is that none of us

do this perfectly,

do we?

The heart of a Christian,

the desire,

the heartfelt desire

of a Christian

is the will of God.

That's from him

in us.

But we wrestle

with the flesh.

We wage war

against the desires

of our sinful flesh,

which ought to make us

so, so thankful

that third,

Jesus perfectly

accomplished

God's will

for sinners

like us.

Jesus

perfectly

accomplished

God's will

for us.

It seems like

this discussion,

it led towards

more muttering

in the crowds,

and they began

to ask,

isn't this the man

they seek to kill?

And yet,

here he is

speaking openly,

and they're saying

nothing to him.

Can it be

that the authorities

really know

that this

is the Christ?

They're on to

something,

aren't they?

But as soon

as this question

was raised,

an objection

came with it.

Look there

to verse 27.

He says,

but we know

where this man

comes from,

and when the Christ

appears,

no one will know

where he comes from.

They knew,

or at least

they thought

they knew

where Jesus

was from,

and apparently

they believed

that when the Messiah

appeared,

it would be

instant

and unexpected.

He would appear

immediately

and quickly

get to work

ushering in

the kingdom of God,

liberating the Jews.

In other words,

Jesus was not

what they expected.

They saw Jesus.

They saw the signs.

They heard his words

and yet could not

see Jesus

for who he is.

Why?

Jesus says

it's because

they did not know God.

They judged

by appearances

and not

with right judgment.

Jesus says,

you know me

and you know

where I come from,

but I have not

come on my own accord.

He who sent me

is true

and him

you do not know.

I know him

for I come from him

and he sent me.

If you knew him,

you would know me.

If you loved his words,

you would love my words.

If you willed his will,

you would look at me

and know that I am he,

but you don't.

So how did they respond?

They sought to arrest him.

But no one laid a hand on him

because his hour,

that God appointed hour

in the plan

and the will of God

had not yet fully come.

Yet,

many of the people

did believe in him.

And they said,

when the Christ appears,

will he do more signs

than this man has done?

Do you see the mounting division

of the people to Christ

at this point?

The mounting division

of how people are responding

to the words

and the person of Christ.

We cannot be neutral

when we hear the words of Christ.

We can reject him,

we can write him off,

we can seek to kill him,

or we can come to him totally,

but we cannot be neutral.

This is the moment of decision

for these people.

God sent Christ

for this purpose,

that any who look to him

and believe that he is the Christ

might have life in his name.

These Jews are teetering

on the edge of eternity here,

between eternal life

and eternal death.

As they weigh in their minds,

who is Jesus?

Who is this man?

Is he who he claims to be?

If it's not him,

then who?

Who else could do

the things he does

and speak the way he does?

As you consider

the words of Christ

this morning,

if you're not a believer,

I would ask you

the same question.

If you won't trust this man,

whom will you trust?

Apparently,

the Pharisees

overheard this conversation

and said,

enough waiting,

the time has come.

The chief priests

and Pharisees

sent officials

to arrest him,

but as they do,

Jesus says one last thing

that just perplexes

everyone in the crowd.

Look there with me.

He says,

I will be with you

a little longer,

and then where I am going,

I'm going to him

who sent me.

You will seek me

and you will not find me.

Where I am,

you cannot come.

The Jews said to one another,

where is he going?

Where does he think

he's going?

Where we can't find him?

Does he intend to go out

to the Greeks

and the dispersion

and teach the Greeks?

What does he mean

by you will seek me

and you will not find me

and where I am,

you cannot come?

And John leaves us hanging,

doesn't he?

He doesn't give us the answer.

But we know the end of the story.

We know that very soon

Jesus would enter again

into Jerusalem

to shouts of Hosanna,

to words of praise,

to the great expectations

of the crowds,

and within a week

we know that Christ

will hang on a cross.

and he would be put to death

and that the Son of God

would die a sinner's death.

Why?

Why would this happen?

Why would he do this?

To perfectly fulfill

the plan of God

for sinners like us,

for our salvation.

You know,

the death of Christ

was not a tragic accident.

This was the eternal plan

of God

from before the ages began,

that the Son of God

would come

and live perfectly

in our place

where you have failed,

where I have failed,

where Adam has failed,

and he would die

in the place of sinners.

But because of his

perfect obedience,

death would not

have a claim on him.

So he would rise

from the grave

and then ascend up

into heaven

and sit down

at the right hand

of God the Father

because the plan

of redemption

was complete

and Jesus fulfilled it

perfectly.

He says to the Jews,

because of your sin,

you cannot come

where I am going.

But do you know

what he says

to his followers

later in John 14?

Listen to this.

He says,

I go to prepare

a place for you.

And if I go

and prepare a place

for you,

I will come again

and will take you

to myself,

that where I am,

you may be also.

And you know the way

to where I am going.

Thomas said to him,

Lord,

we do not know

where you are going.

How can we know

the way?

Jesus said,

I am the way

and the truth

and the life.

No one comes

to the Father

except through me,

through my life,

through my obedience,

through my death,

through my resurrection,

given freely to you

through faith.

God's life.

Why does this matter

for us,

church?

Why does it matter

that Jesus lives

a life of perfect obedience?

For one,

let Jesus' obedience

serve as conviction

for us.

None of us

have lived

a perfect life.

all of us

have fallen short

of the glory of God

in many ways,

many more ways

than we realize.

Even this morning,

even this hour,

we have fallen short

of the glory of God.

Let Jesus' holiness

convict you

of where you fall short.

Not only that,

may Jesus'

perfect obedience

serve as an example

for us.

If we want to know

what godliness looks like,

if we want to grow

in obedience,

where else can we look

but to Christ

who perfectly obeyed?

But not only that,

church,

be thankful

that His obedience

serves as a substitute

for us.

For as by the one man's

obedience,

the many were made sinners,

so by the one man's

obedience,

the many will be made

righteous.

The gospel is the good news

that Jesus Christ

lived in the place

of sinners

where we failed,

He succeeded,

that He might give

His perfect righteousness

and all of the reward

that comes with it

to unworthy sinners

like us

simply through faith.

If Christ Jesus

erred in one degree

from the will

and plan of God,

there would be

no salvation

for us.

But because He

perfectly submitted

to the will

of the Father,

He gives us

everything

that He has earned

in our place.

If all we see

when we look at Jesus

are the ways

we fall short,

we will feel

nothing but shame.

If all we see

when we see Jesus

is a moral example

of right and wrong,

we'll feel pride

when we succeed

and we'll feel guilt

when we fail,

but if we look

to our perfect Savior

as a substitute,

His perfect obedience

credited to our

bankrupt account

by faith,

then we will feel

the weight of sin

melt away.

And we will feel

thankful for the

obedience of Christ.

Christ,

because without

His obedience,

there is no hope.

Let's pray.

Lord, we do thank You

for the perfect

obedience of Christ.

We've failed.

We freely confess

and admit our sin

to You.

And we turn to You

with it knowing

that You sent Christ

for sinners like us.

That we can't earn

our way to You.

We've failed,

but Christ alone

has earned the right

to eternal life

and He's offered

that to us

simply through faith

in Him and His name.

God, help us

to will the will

of God.

Give us a spirit

that desires Your will

above all else,

we pray in Christ's name.

Amen.