Jesus Put Plainly

Thanks very much, Naomi. Good morning, everyone.

Whether you're here in the church or online, I'm delighted to welcome you.

As we've been reflecting, this has been a week when we have been weeping with those who weep as a church.

Under these circumstances, there are two great resources that we have.

One we've used already this morning, it is praying for one another,

and particularly praying for those who are mourning,

and I'm sure the McLaren family will be very much still in our prayers over the coming weeks.

And the second great resource is God's Word, the Bible.

And we go to it for comfort and for strength, and sometimes for challenge in times like this.

And so this morning, we want to look at what God has to say to us through his Word,

and particularly what God has to say to us about Jesus,

and how Jesus can be with us even in the most difficult of times.

Let me begin with one of my favourite Christian quotations.

It is by the Swiss theologian Carol Barth.

Carol Barth was widely recognised as one of the foremost Christian thinkers of the 20th century,

and you may well be familiar with the quotation.

Barth went on a lecture tour in the United States in the early 1960s,

and as often happens with these things, he invited questions at the end of his lectures.

And one of the students said to him,

Professor Barth, are you able to summarise in one sentence the whole of your life's work in theology?

So I'm going to challenge that.

Summarise in one sentence the whole of his life's work.

And Carol Barth said,

Isn't that powerful?

This great intellect, this man who studied in much more depth than any of us will ever be able to,

God's Word.

And yet when it came down to it, all boiled down to this,

Jesus loves me.

I was thinking also of the Apostle Paul,

Paul who wrote almost half the books of the New Testament,

whose theology particularly of what it means that Christ died for us,

is by God's divine inspiration the basis for much of what we as Christians believe.

Paul was in Philippi with his companion Silas.

They were put in prison, and there was a great earthquake in the night.

And the jailer ran in, and he was suicidal.

And he said, what must I do to be saved?

No time for Paul to explain the doctrine of justification by faith

or any of the other things that we read in his letters.

Very simply he said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,

and you will be saved.

See, there are many difficult things in our Bibles.

Many things we don't understand.

But the basis of Christian faith,

our trust in the Lord Jesus,

is very simple.

Jesus loves me.

Jesus went to the cross and died for me.

And if I believe in him,

I can be forgiven for my sins.

When we come to John's gospel,

which we've been in for quite a while now,

again, there's a lot of complexity.

You may have come across some of that in your growth groups

over the last few weeks.

A lot of things that are difficult for us to understand.

But very simply,

John is just trying to present to us Jesus

and to help us to come to belief in him.

To believe that Jesus is the Son of God,

that Jesus is the Messiah,

that Jesus can be our Savior.

Summed up, perhaps,

very well for many of us in John 3, 16,

God so loved the world

that he gave his one and only Son

that whoever believes in him

shall not perish,

but have eternal life.

And as I've been studying in John 10 this week,

I've been very struck

by the basic simplicity that there is there,

even though there's a lot of complexity.

There are some things in this passage,

and we won't be able to do more

and scratch the surface of them.

There are some things in this passage

that keep people like Carol Barth

occupied all their professional life.

But very simply,

there are two lessons

which I have taken from it this morning.

One is that we have to consider

who Jesus is.

There are two groups of people.

There are some who believe in Jesus,

and there are some who don't.

We'll see that as we go through the passage.

And John is saying to us,

Jesus is saying to us in this passage,

just look at the evidence.

Look at who I am

and what I've done

and believe.

And that's one thing

we would want all of us

to get to this morning,

to look at the evidence of Jesus,

to see him as he is,

and to believe in him.

The other is just one verse,

one verse which,

in the circumstances of this week,

it really stood out to me.

If you've got your Bibles,

verse 28,

where Jesus is talking about his sheep,

and he says,

I give them eternal life,

and they shall never perish.

No one will snatch them out of my hand.

What a wonderful truth that is,

that if we trust the Lord Jesus,

if our faith is in him,

if we are following him,

if he is our shepherd,

then there is nothing

that can separate us from him.

We can never be snatched away

in good times or bad times,

in health,

in sickness,

in life,

in death.

Our good shepherd is there for us,

giving life that can never be taken away.

And those who leave this world through death,

if they know the Lord Jesus,

they go to somewhere much better,

and they have joy

unconfined with their sufferings behind them.

And that truth must be a great comfort to us this week.

So, I want very simply to look through this passage.

We'll divide it into three sections,

and we'll draw some conclusions at the end

about our faith in the Lord Jesus.

Let's begin, though, with a bit of background.

I think it's always good

if we understand a passage

in its original context.

So, for the last couple of months or so,

we've been going through a section of John's Gospel

which runs from chapter 5

through to chapter 10,

and is built around the feasts,

the festivals of the Jews.

And this section is broadly made up of three things.

There are miracles,

there are what we might call monologues,

Jesus' teaching,

and there is dialogue,

largely Jesus debating

with the religious leaders.

And John's purpose,

and it has in all of his Gospel,

is to demonstrate to us

that Jesus is the Messiah,

the Son of God.

Over the last few weeks,

we've been at the Feast of Tabernacles,

which takes place around September time.

Today, we've moved on,

and we're at the Feast of Dedication.

So, we're about three months

before the death of the Lord Jesus

in December.

The Feast of Dedication

is probably better known

to most of us today

as Hanukkah,

one of the Jewish festivals

which is reasonably well known

and certainly is taught

in many schools in our country.

The Feast of Dedication

remembered a time of the Jews

which we won't find in our Bibles.

It happened between the Old

and the New Testament.

And in that period,

the nation was ruled

by Greek Hellenic rulers,

descendants or successors

of Alexander the Great.

And one of these

was Antiochus Epiphanes.

And he was a very cruel

and uncaring ruler.

One of the things he did

was to say

the Jewish religion is banned.

You can no longer worship

as you should.

He desecrated the temple.

He took away a lot

of the religious objects

and he forced the people

to use pigs

in their sacrifice

which would be horrific

for Jews.

Now sadly,

most of the priests

at that time

went along with them.

They were more interested

in saving their skin

than they were

in keeping true

to God's faith.

But there was one priest

called Mattathias

and his sons

who set up

a kind of grill operation

against the rulers

of the time.

And the best known

of these

is Judas Maccabeus.

And Judas Maccabeus

eventually recaptured Jerusalem.

And when he did,

he rededicated the temple

to God.

And that's what

is being remembered

in this Feast of Dedications

or Hanukkah.

Now it's relevant

to this passage

because as you go through it,

and we won't spend

a lot of time

looking at that,

but as you go through it,

there are reflections,

there are things

which are specific

to this particular feast.

For example,

in verse 36,

the Lord Jesus talks

about being set apart

by God.

The word really

is dedicated.

It's the same word

that was used

when the temple

was restored.

And the Lord Jesus

maybe is there

giving echoes

of in chapter 2

when he talks about

the temple

by which he meant

his body being destroyed

and built again

in three days.

Also,

during this festival,

one of the readings

was from Ezekiel chapter 34.

Ezekiel 34 · chapter mention

Graham referred to that

last week.

It's a chapter

about the leaders of Israel,

the shepherds of Israel,

and how they have failed God.

And so Jesus presents himself here

as the good shepherd,

as the shepherd

who won't fail us.

But perhaps most powerful of all,

the Feast of Dedications

was a time

when the Jews looked back

to one of their great heroes,

to Judas Maccabeus

who had freed them

from the grip

of the Greek army.

And the Jews

in first century Israel

were looking for another hero,

someone who would release them

from the Romans,

the one who would be

the Messiah promised

in the Old Testament.

And perhaps that's why

as Jesus is walking

through the temple courts,

the people said to him,

how long will you

keep us in suspense

if you are the Messiah?

Tell us plainly.

Now I don't think

this was just a kind of

positive question

they were asking.

It was very much

a loaded one.

The language that's used

that Jesus is walking

through the temple,

they surround him,

and they I think

are being quite hostile

and are looking for a reason

to condemn him.

So it's not a straightforward

question,

but it's a very relevant

one for them

and for us.

Is Jesus the Messiah?

Is Jesus the Son of God?

And so Jesus answers,

he answers again

slightly obliquely,

but in a way that makes

it very clear

that yes,

he is the Son of God,

yes,

he is the Messiah.

And so in the opening

verses of the passage,

we have the sheep

and the shepherd

brought before us.

Now you remember

we hear last week

that Graham talked

in some detail

about the sheep

and the shepherd.

That's very much

the theme

of the first part

of John 10.

The Lord Jesus

returns to it here.

And he says

two things.

He says,

my sheep

listen to my voice

and I give them

eternal life.

My sheep

listen to

my voice.

Those who are

Jesus' sheep

who recognise

his voice

and they respond

to it.

Let's have a little

diversion just for a second

and I want to talk

about empire penguins.

Empire penguins,

of course,

live in the Antarctic

and they tend to live

in big colonies

that stick together

by and large.

But each empire penguin

has a mate,

they have one mate

and after the female

lays the eggs,

the male stands

and incubates the eggs

for the chick

to hatch

while the female

goes out to sea

and gathers food

for the chick.

Now we're not talking

about going out

and coming back

the same day,

it could easily be

a couple of months

or more.

And the female penguin

arrives back

and you've got

this big pack of ice

and lots of penguins

who all look the same.

I think even to penguins

they all look

pretty similar.

How is she going

to find her mate?

How is she going

to find her chick?

And the amazing thing is

that the female empire penguin

is able to call out

in a way that is unique

to her

and the male,

her mate,

can respond to it.

He's been listening

for her voice

as he's hashed the chick

and when the female

comes back

above all the noise

round about

he hears her voice

and he responds to it

and the family

are reunited.

I think that's a great picture

of what Jesus

is telling us here.

There are lots of noises

in our world today.

Lots of things

that would distract us

and draw us away

from God.

But Jesus says

those who are my sheep

they hear my voice

they recognize it

they trust in me

and they follow me

because they know

that they can have

confidence in me.

My sheep

listen to my voice

I know them

and they follow me.

Then there's a verse

that I highlighted

at the beginning

the eternal life

that Jesus gives us.

I give them eternal life

and they shall never perish

no one

will snatch them

from my hand.

Paul put it slightly differently.

Nothing in all creation

will be able to separate us

from the love of God

that is in Christ Jesus

our Lord.

What a wonderful blessing

that is

for those who know

and love the Lord Jesus

that whatever happens

whatever goes on

in our lives

whether there's happiness

whether there's sadness

whether there's sickness

whether there are

all sorts of problems

even when it comes to death

we have the protection

of the shepherd

and we know

that we will go

to be with him

when we leave

this life.

But that's the blessing

of the sheep

there's a little bit more

about the shepherd

in this bit as well

and this is where it gets

really quite difficult

and I'm going to cover this

very briefly.

So the Lord Jesus says

in verse 29

my father

has given them to me

who has given them to me

it's greater than all

no one can snatch them

out of my father's hands.

Now when I'm speaking to you

I'm saying to you

you have a decision

to make about Jesus

will you trust in him

or not?

And yet here Jesus is saying

that actually the sheep

are given to him

by the father.

The father is the one

who chooses us

to belong to Jesus

and to follow him.

And this apparent contradiction

is one that's exercised Christians

I think throughout

the whole of Christianity.

On the one hand

we need to choose

and we do need to choose

to follow Jesus.

on the other hand

we are only going to make

that decision

among the hubbub

of the voices

and the distractions

around about us

if God works in us

and draws us to Jesus

and enables us

to make that right choice.

And the truth is not

somewhere in the middle

it's at both ends.

We need to choose

and yet at the same time

God chooses us.

And I don't understand it fully

I'm sure you probably

don't either

but it's a wonderful truth.

In the words of

a great modern hymn

loved before the dawn of time

chosen by my maker

hidden in my saviour

I am his

and he is mine

cherished

for eternity.

So that's the first difficult

but wonderful thing

in these verses.

Then as we go on

into verse 31

sorry 30 it is

Jesus says

I and the Father

are one.

And that brings us

to another great

and very difficult

truth.

How can it be

there is one God

but there are two

actually three

if we include the Holy Spirit

three persons.

What does the Lord Jesus

mean when he says

I and the Father

are one?

Well if I can be

a little bit technical

the word that's used

for Jesus talking about

being one

is neuter

in the original Greek

so that means

that it's not saying

me and I

and the Father

are the same person.

It is saying

we have the same purpose

that the Lord Jesus

came to fulfil

the Father's purpose

in his life

and we see that clearly

as we go through John.

But I think it's clear

from the passage

that it's more than that.

If that had been

all the Lord Jesus

had been saying

and the people

had understood

then they wouldn't

have reacted

so strongly

against him.

And the Lord Jesus

is saying I believe

that he and the Father

although distinct

persons

they are in essence

the same

they are one in nature

that he is

truly God.

And again

the mystery of the Trinity

is something that we will

never probably fully

understand

in this slide

but isn't it wonderful

that God

the Son of God

truly God himself

came into our world

and lived

among us.

We beheld his glory

says John

the glory of the one

and only Son

of the Father.

Now I've skated over

that very quickly

if you want to talk

about it later

please do

but two wonderful

but difficult truths.

Let's move on

through the passage

though

because our time

is going

and we'll look at

verses 31 to 39

which I've given

the heading

the words

and the works.

So the Jews

recognising

that rightly

that Jesus

has claimed to be God

in verse 30

they react strongly

against that

and they try

to stone him

and then again

at the end

they try

to seize him.

And then in the middle

we have

a slightly

strange conversation

I think

it probably

doesn't mean

as much

to us

in our culture

as it would have

then.

But very simply

what Jesus says

quoting from

Psalm 82

is that in that

Psalm

God calls

the people

who actually

were corrupt leaders

he calls them

gods

he calls them

sons of the most high

and Jesus says

well if he says that

about these people

who you could look at

and think

they were nothing

like God

why couldn't he

say it about me

when I'm his son

after all

that I've done.

But he backs

that up

with evidence

and his evidence

is the works

that he has

done.

The lame

walk

that was John 5

the hangrier

fed

that's John 6

the storm

is still

John 6 again

the blind

see

John 9

and Jesus says

look at all

these things

that I've done

are they not

evidence

that I am God

that I am

the son

of God

the blind man

we met

in John 9

said something

similar

how could he

do these things

if he wasn't

from God

and Jesus

says

what he has done

these signs

that he has given

they are the evidence

if they won't

listen to his words

and they won't

give him a fair

hearing

these signs

that he has done

are the evidence

that he truly

is God

and for us today

if you are wondering

who is Jesus

if you are unsure

about him

then go to the Bible

go to the Gospels

John's Gospel

or Luke

or any of the others

read them

with an open mind

looking for truth

and the Lord Jesus

will jump out at you

from the pages

and you will see

that what he said

here is true

that he is the one

who came from God

who spoke the most

marvellous words

and who did

the most amazing things

culminating

in his own

resurrection

then the third part

of the section

Jesus moves away

from Jerusalem

this will be

the last time

he's in Jerusalem

before he comes

on Palm Sunday

and moves towards

his crucifixion

and where he goes

to is something

very significant

he goes to where

it all started

in John's Gospel

he goes to the place

where John the Baptist

was baptising

that most likely

was in the vicinity

of Jericho

in the Jordan

not too far

from Jericho

you remember

when Jesus came back

to Jerusalem

he came back

through Jericho

and the reception

here is

very different

the people here

remember

what John said

they remember

how John had

pointed to Jesus

the one that's coming

is greater

than I am

I'm not even worthy

to untie

his shoes

he said

here is the one

who is the Lamb of God

who takes away

the sin of the world

he says

he must increase

and I must

decrease

and these people

who had heard John

and who had believed

what John said

they can now

look at Jesus

and say

yes this was the one

who John

talked about

we see the evidence

we see the signs

John always calls

the miracle signs

we see the signs

and we know

the truth

what a contrast

from those in Jerusalem

the ones in Jerusalem

mainly the Jewish

religious leaders

they had totally

closed minds

they weren't willing

to consider fairly

Jesus claims

in this place

in the desert

far away from

the metropolis

here are the people

who really trust in him

and who see

yes there's authenticity

here

and we believe

in him

but as we look

at the signs

let's not forget

the signpost

John's teaching

is really important

in this

John pointed

the people

towards

Jesus

so that when

they met Jesus

when they found out

more about him

they were able

to recognise him

and to come

to trust

in him

and can I say

that all of us

if we are Christians

if our trust

is in the Lord Jesus

we too

are signposts

we should be those

who direct

people to Jesus

not that we're

going to save them

not that we're even

going to convince them

by ourselves

but point them

to Jesus

help them to understand

what they need

and help them

to see

that in Jesus

these needs

can be met

if God

will open their hearts

then through our witness

they may come

to know

the Lord Jesus

going back to

Carol Barth

to finish

Carol Barth

had a picture

or painting

of the crucifixion

on his wall

by an artist

called

Matthias Grunwald

and in this painting

it's Jesus

on the cross

on one side

you have

John

his disciple

with Mary

the Lord's mother

and also Mary Magdalene

and on the other side

you have

John the Baptist

now this isn't

intended to be

historically accurate

because John the Baptist

was martyred

quite a long time

before Jesus

was crucified

but the significant

of John the Baptist

well there's a

lamb standing

at his feet

but the really

significant thing

is that his index finger

I think it's

slightly exaggerated

is pointing

towards Jesus

his duty

John knew

was to point

people to Jesus

and when people

came to visit

Carol Barth

and they maybe

commented

on the painting

Carol Barth

would say

I want to be

that finger

I want to be

someone

who points

people to Jesus

and helps them

to see him

as the one

who died

for their sins

and that for us

if we're Christians

that should be

our ambition

as well

and that's been

my job today

to point you

to Jesus

to talk about

what the Bible

says about him

about the way

in which he

demonstrated

so clearly

that he was God

and that he was

the Messiah

who had been

promised

that in some

ways is simple

but each of us

has to make

our own

decision

we can point

but we can't

make people

decide

for Jesus

so the question

today for all of us

is what is

our attitude

towards Jesus

are we like

the Jews

in Jerusalem

the religious leaders

who wanted

nothing to do

with him

just wanted

to be rid

of him

or are we

like the people

in the desert

there

who looked

at the evidence

who remembered

what had been

taught to them

and had trusted

in Jesus

we don't need

to understand

everything

to believe

we never will

understand everything

but the basics

of our Christian

faith

are very simple

and if today

you're grieving

find your comfort

in Jesus

if you're troubled

in heart

find your peace

in Jesus

if you're apprehensive

about the future

find your hope

in Jesus

if you're feeling

the weight of your sin

find forgiveness

in Jesus

whatever your circumstances

find in Jesus

true love

Jesus loves me

this I know

for the Bible

tells me so

let's pray together

our Father

we thank you

for the Lord

Jesus

we thank you

for the way

in which he

came into our world

as your son

lived among us

as God

with men

a perfect life

showed us

what God is like

did such

wonderful things

and taught in such

wonderful ways

and then ultimately

went to the cross

and died for our sins

but arose again

triumphantly

and today

we look to him

and we point to him

and we say

he is the one

whom all of us

need

whatever our circumstances

he is the one

who can meet

our needs

and we pray

that all of us

will come to that

trust in him

to be those

who hear

the shepherd's voice

and who respond

and who follow

and again

we would lovingly

commit to you

those who are

particularly sad

this morning

we pray for Fraser

and Ross

and Jack

for Lynn and Fraser's

parents

and other family members

and we ask that you

will be very near to them

and that they will know

the comfort

that can only come

through Jesus

and the confidence

the hope

we have in him

we thank you

for our time together

and we commit ourselves

to you

in Jesus name

Amen

Amen