Our King’s Cross-Shaped Ministry (part 2)

So this is John chapter 6, verses 60 to the end and then beginning in chapter 7 through verse 24.

John 6:60

I'm going to read this out loud.

You follow along with your eyes and as you hear God's word and see it,

remember this is the inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear and sufficient word of God.

We hear from God himself through his word.

John 6, 60.

When many of his disciples heard it, they said,

this is a hard saying, who can listen to it?

We're going to review in just a moment what they're referring to.

Verse 61, but Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them,

do you take offense at this?

Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?

It is the Spirit who gives life.

The flesh is no help at all.

The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

But there are some of you who do not believe.

For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe and who it was who would betray him.

And he said, this is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.

After this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.

So Jesus said to the twelve, do you want to go away as well?

Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life.

And we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.

Jesus answered them, did I not choose you, the twelve?

And yet one of you is a devil.

He spoke of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.

For he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

Chapter 7, verse 1.

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 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.

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.

Verse 10.

But after this, his brothers, after his brothers had gone up to the feast, 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 is 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 him, you have a demon.

Who is seeking to kill you?

Jesus answered them, I did one work and you 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 man's whole body well?

Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

You may be seated.

Well, let's pray.

Stand in the middle of your temple, King Jesus, and teach us by your word we ask.

Amen.

Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, today I want to show you once again

the cross-shaped ministry of Jesus.

What I tried to show last week is the same thing I want to show you again.

I believe this is why John's arranged it this way.

He's showing you that it wasn't only in those final moments of Jesus' life

that he was suffering and that he was ministering the ministry of the cross.

In fact, it was his entire ministry.

From the moment he took on flesh, it was God stooping down so low.

In every action, and even now as he's opening up and revealing the kingdom of heaven,

the way he does this, it takes the shape of the cross.

The reason this matters is because there is no true ministry unless it's Christ ministering.

And all of us who are in Christ, we are ambassadors of his kingdom.

We are a nation of priests.

We are all ministering Christ.

Through you, Christ ministers to those he brings into your life.

That's our humbling way of how God is choosing to unveil and further his kingdom on earth.

It's through you, through the church.

So I want to show you five more ways in which his ministry was shaped by his cross in today's passage.

The first one is that a cross-shaped ministry offends many.

It is offensive and it offends many people.

Let me just say one thing quickly.

Our goal as Christians should not be to be annoying and to go out offending people.

That's not it.

The point is this.

It's the message of Christ himself.

There is something happening spiritually.

When the gospel and the truth of the kingdom of heaven is proclaimed through God's people in this dark world,

it will be offensive.

And you will take arrows back for being such a minister.

But that's the way of the cross.

That's the type of ministry Christ uses.

So be ready.

So it offends many.

The cross of Christ was a picture to those who had the whole Bible of offense.

It was not in the temple.

It's too dirty.

It was not even in the city of Jerusalem because that was representing the place from where God would rule and God is holy.

And it was in the most disgusting part outside of the city where the waste and the dead bodies,

when plagues would sweep through, they would load them up, haul them out, set them on fire.

And it was like, you've seen those in many parts of the world, you just put your trash and your, you know, disgusting stuff that's left over.

You put it all in a big pile and set it on fire.

And that's how you get rid of waste.

And so that's what was right behind the cross of Christ.

And the way in which Christ was killed, it was something that Jews could not personally do.

It had to be Gentiles.

It had to be the Romans.

So the cross is offensive.

And our ministry, in the ministry of Jesus was also so offensive because his ministry is shaped by his cross.

When Jesus proclaimed the gospel, our Lord Jesus, we read here, he was rejected by many.

Look at verse 61.

They took offense at his message.

What message was this that they were so offended by?

Well, take your eyes up a couple of verses to verse 58.

Jesus had taught them, whoever feeds on this bread will live.

Do you remember what he was talking about?

What is the bread he's talking about?

It's his own body.

His own body.

That's an offensive message.

You know why you can't believe, Jesus says to them?

It's not because you need to see more.

Look at the verse right before that.

Our Lord Jesus says, I'm sorry, look at the verse right in that passage, right after.

It's verse 65.

He says, this is what I told you, that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Spirit who gives life.

And in verse 62, he said, if you were to even see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before, you would still not believe.

Do you get what he's saying?

Then he said this.

He said, you have to eat my body to have eternal life.

That's offensive.

But then he said, no one can do that unless the Father draws them.

And then they get so offended, they're grumbling.

We might just leave over this.

Hold on.

What he's saying can't be right.

And does Jesus back down?

No, he goes even stronger with that same message.

He says, that is exactly why I said no one can believe unless my Father draws him.

And the Spirit gives life.

You cannot work for your own salvation.

That was offensive.

And the pride of man without the work of the Spirit to give you a new heart will always be offended by that.

But that's the gospel message that offends many.

Look at verse 66.

After this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.

Remember, this is the same crowd that Jesus had compassion for.

Because they were like sheep without a shepherd.

And he's teaching them.

They turn their backs.

Speak bad about him.

Walk away.

Reject him.

Too offended by the gospel message.

A commentator of 1600s, a particular Baptist named John Gill, he said on this verse, he said,

Those who apostatized, who turned their backs and walked away rejecting Christ,

they had for a while heard his teaching, seen his signs, followed him, made a credible profession of faith,

even received baptism into water.

Yet they were not truly saved.

Their hearts were still spiritually dead.

That's a good caution to all of us.

It's possible to be hearing the message of the gospel,

to be near the very, very near where Christ is ministering,

and to yet have a dead heart for lack of faith,

for lack of repentance and believing.

And if you do repent and believe, you will be the first one to say,

It was the Father who drew me to his Son in his kindness.

All glory be to God for opening the eyes of a blind man like me.

Well, the numbers today in America and in the West of people turning their back on Christ,

rejecting him, or deluding it so far that it's actually another form of apostasy,

it's very, very high.

You probably have loved ones and friends or former friends who fit that category.

One of my favorite pastors to listen to through his music is Shai Lin.

He was a church planter discipled by Mark Dever,

and he pointed out this trend in evangelicalism.

He said,

Satan's got a plot devised.

I'm seeing lots of guys apostatize.

What's happening here?

It's a different atmosphere.

Cats appear most concerned about a rap career.

Brother oversees being slain in the sand,

while we're vain in our plans,

seeking fame and some fans.

But our Lord Jesus Christ cross-shaped ministry,

remember just in the middle of the same chapter,

24,000 or so,

down to just 12.

That's a cross-shaped ministry.

The one of those 12 is one who's going to betray him on top of that.

So our entire ministry of Christ,

everything we see about him preaches the cross,

even how he ministered to those God gave him.

But even with such rejection,

the cross-shaped ministry remains trusting in God.

That's number two.

Jesus trusted in God's power.

In laying down his life on the cross,

Jesus trusted that his Father,

by the power of the Spirit,

would take his life back up again.

So according to his human nature,

he lays down his life,

yet according to his divine nature,

he, God himself, takes his life back up again.

He trusts in the power of God,

even now as he ministers,

because his ministry is shaped by his mission on the cross.

And in his ministry,

Jesus trusted in God's power to draw those who God would to him,

and to be faithful to disciple whoever God brought to him.

Look at verse 67.

Jesus said to the twelve,

Do you want to go away as well?

Simon Peter answered him,

Lord, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life.

Eternal life.

That's the spiritual life now that belongs to the age to come.

That's the life where your soul is alive, united to Christ.

And it begins spiritually for you now through the word of Christ.

What a wonderful profession that Peter makes here.

Peter is joining many others throughout this gospel

who have made a profession of faith,

because the Father drew them,

the Spirit gave them life,

and they believed,

and they responded.

We saw in chapter 134,

John the Baptist said,

I have seen and borne witness of this,

that this is the Son of God.

And then John the Baptizer also said in chapter 334,

He whom God sent utters the words of God,

for he gives spirit without measure.

You see, it's the same profession that Peter's making.

And then Nathaniel, he ate up Christ.

He ate up the words of life that Christ spoke as well.

He said, Rabbi, you are the Son of God.

You are the King of Israel.

And Peter is one more now who professes such a faith.

See, the word of God,

it brings truth of the age to come.

It brings that truth to bear on this present evil age with power,

with the power of the Holy Spirit.

And it changes everything.

And that's the best way to explain.

What do you mean reformed?

We mean that we're in this present evil age,

but it's the life of God from the age to come,

that God is working out now in our life,

in our soul,

in our spirit,

and it works its way out.

And that working out is being conformed to the image of God.

And it's being reformed by the renewing of our minds.

This is the true reality is the spiritual kingdom,

and it's coming through the word of God.

That's exactly what we want to be about.

Because what that does,

when it comes with power,

it puts the whole life in right order.

You know, our lives are out of order

because of the curse of Adam.

But the power of the life of God in the age to come,

it sets everything back in its place.

And it's slow.

It's a slow process of sanctification.

But that's where we enjoy life in Christ.

And it's taking the worldliness

that is so broken our mind,

our thinking,

our bodies,

our temptations,

our view of everything.

That worldliness gets put way down in its proper place.

And the word of God begins to renew

and change how you view everything in life.

And a lifetime is too short for that.

But we need to be about it.

We need to be earnest for that.

I love David Wells.

He explained worldliness in this way.

Worldliness is what makes sin look normal in any age.

And righteousness seem odd.

Did you catch that?

In this world, righteousness seems odd.

But when Christ's power comes into your life

and you're united to Him

and His Spirit fills you

and cleanses you and renews you,

worldliness now starts to seem odd.

I don't want that.

How could I ever have found that attractive?

How could I have ever believed some of these lies?

This is of the world.

And it makes the righteousness

to be right with God in His kingdom.

And all of my life said in order,

this is what normal should feel like.

What power this is.

The power of God.

Our Jesus Christ trusted that power of God to work.

And even in Peter's profession,

He was setting their lives in order.

See, Christ was faithful to those few

that God brought to Him.

And if we are ministering on behalf of Christ,

He's ministering through His people,

we will trust God's power

and we will disciple with faithfulness

as best we can

with that same power,

that same trust that God will work

and He will draw whoever He wants to.

Let's be obedient

with who He has put in our life for this season.

Well, not only is a cross-shaped ministry

offensive to many

and one that requires you to trust

in the power of God alone,

it's a ministry that's as low as can be.

And yet being low, it's bold.

So it's lowly yet bold.

From the cross, Jesus yells,

Father, forgive them.

They don't know what they're doing.

And His ministry is shaped by His mission

because not from the cross,

but back in Jerusalem,

in the temple,

from the center of the city,

Jesus looks at the people

God has brought all around Him.

And He says,

I have compassion for them.

They're sheep without a shepherd.

But this is not the point of my ministry now

in this first coming.

My first coming is about the cross.

And they will reject me.

And they will crucify me.

I'll be made very low.

I don't need their popularity now.

And He boldly proclaims the evil

of their life and their sin.

Look at chapter 7, verse 2.

The Jews' feast of booths was at hand.

This is what next week's sermon

is going to be about.

So I'm not skipping over this.

There's so much richness in here.

It's a whole separate thing.

Just briefly,

this is called the Feast of Booths

or the Feast of Tabernacles.

They would build little tents.

And sometimes they would use cloth.

Other times they would use branches

like hyssop

because they're very leafy branches.

And they would make these booths

for a child.

This would have been so fun.

We get to all go together.

We get to camp.

I'll tell you next week

about some of the ceremonies

they did at the beginning of the day.

At the end of the day,

Josephus, a historian,

he commented,

if there was ever a picture

of jubilee,

of happiness,

it was the Feast of Booths.

So that's the scene.

Busy, busy, rich typology,

which we're going to see next week.

Just rich theology

built into every element.

It began on a Sabbath,

a day of rest.

It ended on another Sabbath,

day of rest.

And so that's the context.

Well, the purpose of the Feast of Booths

was to look back

at how God had sustained his people

through the wilderness journeys

for 40 years.

And it was also to look forward

to how God would be coming now.

They're also pilgrims.

They're living under the oppression of Rome.

They're pilgrims.

They're sojourners.

But he was bringing the Messiah.

That was the purpose of it.

We read in verse 3

that his brothers,

his brothers said to him,

you need to leave Galilee up here

in this kind of mixed area.

You need to go down

to the hub of the nation

where the power comes from.

You need to go down to Judea

and do some of these signs down there.

Then you'll really get their attention.

Quick comment on the brothers.

We read last week

the list from Mark and Matthew

of brothers that are named

and also some sisters.

So they knew the whole family.

Now, Uriel actually

was looking at this with me.

Some have asked the question,

well, if he had other brothers and sisters,

why did he entrust his mother

to John,

who is not a blood brother?

And also because it was common

to refer to brethren

being like your greater clan,

you know, cousins and all of that.

Now, if Mary and Joseph

did have other children

and she got pregnant,

her having children

and those relations with her husband

was not a sin.

It does not in any way

diminish the virgin birth.

Christ was born of a virgin.

He did not inherit the sin of Adam

that was passed through.

So all of that stands.

I think it's okay to just understand

that Mary and Joseph

had other children,

but that's just a quick clarification there.

So his relatives,

they see him,

but Jesus knows,

okay, you saw my signs.

No one's disputing that,

but you still don't have faith.

And he rejects the popularity

that was right there for him to take

if that was what God had called him to do.

Verse five,

not even his brothers believed in him.

They didn't have that saving faith.

And this was no fault of Christ.

This was no sin of his,

no failure of his ministry.

I believe that's another

very powerful accusation

that Satan wants to throw

at the people of God.

If you have a loved one

or a family member

who does not have that saving faith in Christ,

it is not your sin,

not your fault.

It's no failure of yours.

Pray for them.

Pray for in God's perfect time,

they will believe.

And that goes for the entire ministry of Christ.

Think about that.

Those 24,000 that reject him

and he's left with just the 12 again.

Well, why was it once again,

we can ask that when Peter stood up

and preached the gospel,

calling them out on breaking God's law

and their need for Christ,

the Messiah who they crucified,

just as offensive of a message,

3,000 believe.

It's because Christ had plowed the way.

He had preached this gospel.

They had heard it

and they rejected him for a time.

But in his resurrection power,

with the Holy Spirit poured out on the church

and spilling over,

the Spirit brings them now.

So that ministry might be that long,

slow, long-suffering ministry.

That's what we're called to.

And in God's time,

he will draw each one for his glory.

So the ministry of Jesus

was not seeking popularity.

Instead, it was lowly.

And in fact,

it was fulfilling what God required.

Psalm 69, verse 8,

Psalms 69:8

tells that this,

it says,

I have come,

I have become a stranger to my brothers,

an alien to my mother's sons.

So the Messiah would be considered an alien,

a stranger to his own family.

That was part of him fulfilling

what God prophesied.

Verse 6,

Jesus said to them,

my time has not yet come.

Jesus knew,

there will be a time

when I come with the host of angel army

and all will bow the knee

and profess faith in me and my kingdom.

But right now,

look at verse 7,

the world hates me

because I testify about it

that its works are evil.

Sometimes John will simply say

Jesus was teaching them.

Well, what was he teaching them?

According to Christ himself,

he was teaching them

that their works were evil.

Worldliness is odd.

It should not be normal to you.

Repent and be baptized.

That's what Jesus and John the baptizer

were proclaiming.

And that's what we will do

if we are in Christ.

We preach the truth.

We do it in love.

And that's the most loving thing

is to proclaim the truth of God

to those we love,

offensive as it might be.

I think this is really

wonderfully illustrated

with a scene from

Pilgrim's Progress

by John Bunyan.

I'm going to read

this little scene

in a poetic version of that.

The context here is that

Christian and his friend Faithful,

who are saved

out of the city of destruction,

they're traveling

to the heavenly city.

And as they travel,

one of the stops

is in the world.

And the world is called

Vanity Fair.

They're in the middle of it.

And they say,

we left the city of destruction

because it's bringing on

the judgment of God.

Its works are evil.

It deserves the wrath of God.

And with shouts,

threats,

and insults,

the crowd interrupted.

Volcanic and fiery,

their hatred erupted.

So they locked heavy chains

around the pilgrim's hands,

neck,

and feet.

And their cage

was hung up

on a popular street

so that bypassing townsfolk

could spit and throw dirt

or hit them with sticks

and inflict on them hurt.

Yet for all the hate

and malice

the crowds were expressing,

the pilgrim's only return

to their cruel curses

was blessing,

here's the part

that relates to our verse,

reflecting the love

of their merciful Savior,

which caused some

to marvel

at their gracious behavior.

Christ's cross-shaped ministry

stays low,

does not go after man's glory

and popularity

for the self,

but instead

a Christ-like ministry

stays bold,

stands against evil,

and seeks only

the glory of God.

Number four,

our King's cross-shaped ministry

speaks truth

for God's glory.

Jesus revealed God's glory

from the cross.

The cross preached

this message,

God is holy.

If you wonder

how God feels about sin,

look at the cross.

If you wonder

if God is truly just

against such injustice,

look at the cross.

And if you wonder

if Christ truly is love.

If God is most loving,

look at the cross.

And His ministry

is shaped by that same mission.

Our Lord Jesus teaches

God's truth,

who God truly is.

He unveils the Father

for the glory of God alone.

Look at verse 10.

This is really the climax

of this whole passage.

Verse 10,

After His brothers

had gone up to the feast,

then He also went up,

not publicly,

but in privately.

The Jews

were looking for Him

at the feast.

You see the irony

that John is setting up here?

The purpose of the feast

is to look ahead

to the coming Messiah.

And here they are,

missing out on

all the rich typology,

all the rich imagery,

this picture lesson

in front of them

and this feast

that God ordained,

every element

pointing to Christ.

And yet,

with Christ

not even being there,

they're mumbling,

murmuring about Him.

confused,

you know,

talking bad about

how He healed

on the Sabbath.

And this feast

was also called

the Feast of Nations.

Because when God

gave the promise

to Abraham,

it's through your seed

that all nations

will be blessed.

Abraham continued

sojourning

toward the promised land

that God would give him.

The people of Israel

were simply continuing

that pattern.

God promised us rest.

He promises

to dwell with us

and to give us

a kingdom.

And here comes Christ

dwelling in their midst.

For them first,

through them

to all the nations.

The Feast of the Nations

was with them.

Look at verse 11.

They were saying,

where is He?

Verse 12.

There was much muttering

about Him

among the people.

Some said,

He's a good man.

Others said,

no,

He's leading us astray.

But verse 13,

for fear of the Jews,

no one spoke openly

about Him.

The Jews were already

planning to kill Him.

So Christ could not come

in the popularity

and the attention

of the crowd

at that time.

But look at verse 14.

Here's the climax.

I told you this feast

started on the Sabbath

and it ended on a Sabbath.

And I told you

how Jerusalem

was the capital.

Up on a hill,

it's the hub

for the entire kingdom.

And at the center

of Jerusalem

is the temple.

The temple represents

where God

will meet sinners,

where He will pardon sin

and bring in His kingdom.

Verse 14,

about the middle,

once again,

at the center

of this feast,

Jesus went up

into the temple.

He is the exact

midpoint.

It's the middle

of the day,

the center of the feast,

the heart of the temple,

the soul of the nation.

And what did Jesus do?

Was it another great sign,

another great miracle

like His family

wanted Him to do?

Would this now be

the moment they were waiting

for a political coup d'etat?

We can take over

the government.

What did Jesus do

in verse 14?

He began teaching.

See how His ministry

is shaped by His cross?

He is here

to speak the truth

through His word

to reveal God.

Jesus Christ

was an open-air preacher.

He got up

where there's a crowd

and He preached the gospel

for the glory of God.

Charles Spurgeon said,

no defense is needed

for preaching out of doors,

but it would need

very potent argument

that a man

has done his duty

if he is never proclaimed

outside of his meeting house.

So that should be our desire.

We need to take Christ

to all,

wherever He can,

wherever there's an ear

to listen,

and proclaim

for the glory of God

the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

Look at verse 15.

The Jews, therefore,

marveled, saying,

how is it that this man

has learning

when he has never studied?

He's never been through

our seminaries.

He's never been through

everything that we set up

as all the hoops

you would have to jump through

to basically be like

a double PhD

in theology,

and yet,

he's describing God

from the word of God

in a way that

no one can deny

this is the authority

of God

being spoken here.

The Judean elite

was thinking

they were religious,

but they were really still

part of the world,

and Christ exposed

their evil works.

It was His ministry

and His life

and His message

that showed them

the shallowness

of their entire

religious system.

It was futile.

What authority

does Christ

attach His message to?

Look at verse 16.

My teaching is not mine,

but His who sent me.

See, there is no power

in ministry

unless it's the word of God.

It's the word of God

going out

through the people of God.

If anyone's will,

Jesus said,

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.

There's verse 18.

Isn't that a temptation

and a good caution

to all of us?

As you minister

the truth of God

to loved ones

that God brings

to your life,

so many times

you're going to be tempted

to give your opinions

and to try to persuade

using your great intelligence

and your winsomeness.

What a temptation it is.

Christ says,

you have no authority

and if you're trying

to rely on your own authority,

there's no power in it

and you're seeking

your own glory

instead of the glory

of God.

So when you get

to those moments

with your friends,

with loved ones,

when in doubt,

make your words

less and less

and just give them

a verse,

a Bible verse

and pray.

Send the verse,

trust that the Spirit

will minister to them

through that word.

Cross-shaped ministry

claims no authority

of your own.

Those who Christ uses

are those who do not

seek their own glory.

Only the ministry

of God's word

which carries God's authority

is the type of ministry

that pleases God,

that brings Him glory.

And that's what

a cross-shaped ministry

is marked by.

Jesus said,

I will bless all nations

through your seed, Abraham.

Your seed singularly,

as Paul writes in Galatians.

So it's not all ethnic Jews.

It is the one Jew,

the marked out Messiah,

the God-man,

Jesus Christ,

through Israel,

through the people of God

under the Old Covenant,

to all the nations,

all the peoples,

tribes, and tongues

under heaven,

through Christ,

can now enjoy

that same communion,

that same fellowship

with God.

And God is glorified.

Well, number five

is that Jesus teaches

both law and gospel.

That's what the cross

exposed as well.

The law of God

requires that sin be punished.

And also,

because of the work of Christ

on the cross,

the gospel now

can go forth to all.

No matter what sin

a person has committed,

there is the free offer

of the gospel to you.

Repent.

Turn to Christ,

and He will save you.

Look at verse 19.

Jesus says,

Has not Moses

given you the law,

yet none of you

keeps the law?

The Pharisees believed

that if they were

to obey the law

of God perfectly

for one day,

if they could force

everyone in the whole nation

to do the same,

they would then

bring the Messiah back.

Jesus points out to them,

The way you're trying

to get the kingdom

of God on earth,

the way you're trying

to usher in the Messiah,

is never going to get there.

It's never going to get there.

None of you

keeps the law.

In fact,

by trying to keep the law

by your own strength,

you're sinning.

You're proud,

and you're refusing

to repent

and declare your need

for a Savior

to come and save you instead.

See, Jesus,

He said,

Until you realize

how blind you are

by your sin,

you will never be able

to see how I am

fulfilling everything

this feast

is meant to preach.

The Sabbath points

to the rest of,

that only my kingdom

can bring.

In the age to come,

those who belong to me

and my kingdom

will have true rest.

You will never see

that the circumcision

that Moses

and the fathers gave you

is served a purpose

which was to mark out

the Messiah.

But now I've promised,

even in the Old Testament,

you need to be circumcised

in your heart.

That's really the purpose

of circumcision.

And you need to use

right judgment

because I made

a man's entire body well.

I am ushering in

the kingdom

that makes everything whole,

set back in its place,

but you don't see it.

Jesus was unveiling to them

the I am's.

We've seen these

and now it comes

like an avalanche.

It starts slow.

Be ready for what

Christ will reveal.

He is showing them

by His actions

and very soon

by even more of His words,

I am the one

who ushers in

the kingdom of heaven.

I am the true temple

of God.

I am that meeting place

between you,

sinful men

who can't keep His law

and the holy God.

I am the living water.

I am the light of the world.

I am the feast

of the nations.

I am the king of kings.

But in this coming,

it's in the shape

of a cross.

It's the king

taking on His cross.

So the cross

is still a matter

of shame

and confusion today

to those who don't have

the Christ,

who don't have

the Holy Spirit

bringing light

to the heart.

And it was just as much

that in the first century

and in the early church,

Paul wrote to the church

in Romans,

in Rome,

to the Romans

in chapter 1, verse 16.

He said,

I am not ashamed

of the gospel

for it is the power of God.

You might be wondering,

what does that look like today?

2023,

right here where I live.

I want to give you

an encouragement

of what this looks like

even today.

The modern world,

not just here,

anywhere in the world.

In 1980,

a Christian

in the country

of Rwanda

in Africa,

he was forced

by his tribe

to either renounce Christ

or face certain death.

He refused

to renounce Christ

and he was killed

on the spot.

When the church

went in

and cleaned up

his apartment afterwards,

they found a note

that they believe

he wrote

maybe the night before

and it had

this little poem

written by his handwriting

and he entitled it

The Fellowship

of the Unashamed.

I want to read this

to you as an encouragement.

This is what it sounds like

when a true disciple

of Christ

has more and more

of the love

for Christ

and lives out

or at least desires

to live out

a cross-shaped ministry.

Here's what our brother

in Rwanda wrote.

I am part of

the fellowship

of the unashamed.

I have stepped

over the line.

The decision

has been made.

I am a disciple

of Jesus Christ.

There needs to come

a point in your life

where you know

that as well.

Am I or not?

He wrote,

I won't look back,

let up,

slow down,

back away,

or be still.

This is maybe

the biggest hindrance

for all of us.

What comes next?

My past

is redeemed.

If you're in Christ,

that's true for you.

My present

makes sense

and my future

is secure.

I am finished

and done

with low living,

sight walking,

small planning,

smooth knees,

colorless dreams,

chintzy giving,

and dwarfed goals.

I no longer

need preeminence,

prosperity,

position,

promotion,

plaudits,

or popularity.

Don't you just see

that cross-shaped ministry

coming through

this believer?

I now live

in peace,

lean by faith,

love by patience,

lift by prayer,

and labor by power.

My pace is set,

my gate is fast,

my goal is heaven,

my road is narrow,

my way is rough,

my companions few,

my guide reliable,

my mission clear.

I cannot be bought,

compromised,

deterred,

lured away,

turned back,

deluded,

or delayed.

I will not flinch

in the face of sacrifice,

hesitate in the presence

of adversity,

negotiate at the table

of the enemy,

ponder at the pool

of popularity,

or meander

in the maze

of mediocrity.

I am a disciple

of Jesus Christ.

I must go

until heaven returns,

give until I drop,

preach until all

know,

and work until

He comes.

And when He comes

to get His own,

He will have no problem

recognizing me,

my colors will be clear.

Father,

let's pray.

Lord Jesus,

make us faithful disciples.

We are not that

by our own power,

but You are powerful

on our behalf.

Lord,

please help us

to behold Christ

in His cross-shaped ministry.

And as we behold You,

as You've revealed Yourself

in Your Word,

we proclaim like the song,

Christ exalted

is our song,

the sovereign

over everything.

He left His glorious throne

beyond

and stepped into

our suffering.

Those same hands

that shaped

the heaven's frame

reached

to heal

a leper

just like

each one of us.

Lord,

thank You

for how

in Your meekness

You came

to lead us

like a shepherd.

We praise You

for Your cross-shaped

ministry,

O Lord.

Shape us

to be like Christ.

For Your glory

we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.