What Do People See in the Bible?

Okay, well, good morning everyone. Lovely to see you today and brilliant to see so many new faces as well.

My name is Graeme, I'm the pastor of the church here and here's what I'd love you to do.

I'd love you to turn back to those verses in John chapter 5, if you have them there in your Bibles.

John 5 · chapter mention

And know that as you're doing that, you are looking at, according to the Guinness Book of Records,

you're looking at the best-selling book of all time.

Three quick fun facts for you.

Five billion Bibles have been sold to date.

Apparently, 1.6 million Bibles are sold around the world every month.

And somebody's worked out and calculated that that works out as something like 6.4 Bibles per second around the world right now are flying off the shelves.

Now, longevity like that, you have to say, is pretty extraordinary.

And maybe you hear those stats and to be honest, you're completely baffled.

Why would anyone be interested in this dated, cold and constraining book that Christians call the Bible?

Surely in 2023, we've moved on from all that kind of religious stuff.

What was it Boris said to us?

Every night during lockdown, we'll be guided by the science.

Why do we need this book?

Why do people get into this book?

Which is a great question.

Maybe it's one you've got here today.

It's a wonderful question.

And because it's a wonderful question, my invitation to you is to come to this passage today

and see the wonderful answer that's there for us.

You see, if all this was was a self-help book, the kind that offers us pearls of wisdom,

the kind of book that provides almost some spiritual caffeine to propel us into our days,

honestly, this book wouldn't get past the publishers.

And the answer, because of that, is because it does a pretty lousy job at being a self-help book, if we're honest.

Okay, no one's asking themselves, should I take that new job?

And it's going to find the immediate answer in one of the genealogies that you find in the Bible.

It's not a self-help book.

If that's what you're after, then can I recommend you flick over to Oprah,

because she does a far better job than the Bible does at that.

Let me put it to you that the answer to the question, what do people see in this book,

is not primarily what it says.

It's primarily who it reveals.

For if you come with me to our passage today, here is Jesus' claim about the Bible, and it's a biggie.

And taking these five words in English, verse 39,

the scriptures testify about me.

Which is either the most vain thing I think I've ever heard somebody say,

right, like something that someone on an audition tape for The Apprentice would come out with,

it's all about me,

or

he's right.

It's true, isn't it, in our own Christian walks at times,

that so often our problem is that we go looking at this book,

we come at it,

thinking it's about us.

When actually, the way more satisfying,

eye-opening, and life-changing experience

is to come at it looking for

him.

Or more precisely,

how he, Jesus Christ,

the great king,

is the glorious climax to God's promised plan

to rescue

guilty,

sinful,

clueless,

and weary human beings

like you and like me,

win them to himself,

and bless the nations of the world.

Now, let's we think that this is simply a matter of facts,

as if comprehension

is the barrier,

like to be a Christian is to find yourself entered in some kind of

biblical spelling bee.

Come with me to this passage,

and be sure to see

that Jesus is here

speaking to people who have all

the Old Testament

biblical knowledge they could ever need

at their fingertips.

So when Jesus says,

and look at it with me,

verse 39,

that you study the scriptures

because you think

that in them

you have eternal life.

That's what he means.

These religious leaders

are committed to learning

what the scriptures say.

I'm sure they could have

said it to us,

recited it almost verbatim.

Okay?

Like, if you think about it,

if Bible knowledge came up as a category

and mastermind,

these guys were sitting in a chair,

they would be rubbing their hands

with glee.

They're committed to learning what it says.

And they're committed to doing what scripture says.

And yet Jesus,

as in this passage today,

says you've completely missed the point.

See, here's what these men teach us.

That you can have both of those things,

learning and doing,

and still miss the point

that's the central point of the Bible.

I wonder if that rings true for you.

I remember playing football at university

with a ton of boys

who were from the western isles of Scotland.

And they put me as a new Christian to shame

because they knew their Bible off by heart.

They tried their best to live according to it.

They were cracking guys.

But let me just tell you,

they had zero interest in knowing the God

at the heart of it.

It is possible to do it.

And Jesus knows it.

You see, according to him,

when it comes to life,

it's not so much what we know,

it's who we know.

In immediate context,

Jesus has just healed a man

and told him to carry his mat on the Sabbath.

That's where we've been as a church

over the last couple of weeks

in John chapter five.

And that's the thing

that's caused a stir in Jerusalem.

So again, we've been thinking about the fact

that Jesus hasn't just posted a blog post

about who he is.

Okay, he's in conversation with creatures.

Again, you think about that,

that's incredible.

The creator of all things

come down in the person of Jesus

and he's dialoguing with people.

And in so doing, verse 18,

because he's healed that man on the Sabbath

and because he's told that man

to lift up his mat and walk,

verse 18, he's made a claim

to be equal to God.

And we saw that Jesus went on

to explain who he is, right?

The son of God,

the apple of the father's eye,

the one who has seen the father

since before the beginning of the world.

And he's come to reveal him

and his heart to a dying world

that's lost in the sinking sand

of our sin and death.

Which is why if you're here today

and you're wondering

who is this God and what he is like,

our passage last week said to us,

clearly, look at Jesus.

He reveals the father.

Look at Jesus.

And now Jesus gives them

almost three bits of evidence

to give that claim,

credibility,

credibility in the eyes

of the watching world.

And I guess this is what we might know today

as corroborating evidence.

You heard of that?

Corroborating evidence.

You know, I've got a friend called Bob.

Bob is a lecturer

at Edinburgh Theological Seminary.

Bob is also a chaplain

at Edinburgh's biggest prison

out of Sotten.

And I remember vividly him once telling me,

he said,

see when three guys come up to me

in his lovely New Jersey accent,

okay,

when three guys come up to me

and they give me precisely

the same tale of events,

precisely the same running order

of what happened,

I'm immediately smelling a rat.

Okay?

And that's where corroborating evidence

is very persuasive and convincing

because it's evidence

that's been gathered

from different sources

but comes together

to provide you

with a consistent

and full picture.

It's very persuasive.

It's why when I was in law,

remember,

this is what you looked for

for evidence,

corroboration.

Corroboration.

And that's what we have here.

And in keeping with Jewish law

that looked for exactly

the same thing,

Jesus says,

here are three bits of evidence

that back up my claim to divinity.

Now, we'll go through these

really quickly,

but come with me

and you'll see

that this stuff stacks up.

Here's the first one.

Jesus says,

verse 33,

how about you trust

the man who announced me?

Okay?

John the Baptist is here.

This great

and predicted

forerunner

to Jesus

who would come on the scene

just before

the Lord himself would come,

according to scripture.

And we met this guy

back at chapter one.

He arrived on the scene

in the region

causing a stir

because he was telling people

to leave behind

their old sinful ways,

come out,

allow God

to transform your heart

and like a moth

to a flame

be led towards the light.

That was John the Baptist.

And Jesus calls him here

a burning

and a shining lamp.

You see it?

In other words,

this guy,

John,

was a man

in the pitch black

with a flashlight

in his hand

and he was shining

it straight at me,

says Jesus.

And secondly,

says Jesus,

how about you trust

the works

that affirm me?

You see,

every single miracle

that Jesus does,

the type that defies

all human logic

and expectations

is a megaphone

announcing to the world

the breaking in

of God's rule

and reign.

And not only

are they

wonderful foretastes

of what will be true

physically

and emotionally

for every believer

one day

when Jesus returns,

but every work

is also

the Father's

stamp of approval

on the person

of Jesus

and his claims.

And thirdly,

Jesus says,

how about you trust

the voice

that adores me?

You see verse 37?

Jesus says,

the Father

bore witness

about me.

Genuinely understood

there to be a reference

to Jesus' baptism

when the Father's

voice

thundered

from heaven

and when

he came up

out of the water

said,

this is

my

son.

With him

I am

well pleased.

So there's

your three bits

of evidence

says Jesus,

the man

that announces

me,

the works

that affirm

me,

and the voice

that adores

me.

Now what connects

those three things?

I've been thinking

about this all week.

What connects

those three things?

Well,

I take it

it's that all

three of these

things are not

like random

shooting stars

we would see

in an evening,

right?

Never saw that

coming.

If only someone

had said.

I take it

all of these

three things

are right

there in

the scriptures.

Okay,

John the Baptist

that the voice

in the wilderness

saying make

straight the

path for the

Lord.

Again,

he's not

come out

of nowhere.

It's Isaiah

Isaiah 40 · chapter mention

chapter 40

you read about

him there.

The works

that the one

God's promised

one would

come and

his arrival

would cause

the lame

to leap for

joy and

who would

take the

infirmities

of God's

people on

himself.

It's Isaiah

53.

The father

who delights

in his son

his heart

is bursting

with emotion

as he looks

at him

and considers

what he's

come to do.

The servant

is talked

about in

Isaiah 42.

It's all

right there

which makes

you wonder

if these guys

have all the

Bible knowledge

at their

disposal

why are they

not seeing

it?

And you

see it's

not a

matter of

them not

having quite

joined the

dots yet.

It's more

that they

won't join

the dots.

I think this

is really

insightful.

And why?

Well John

gives us two

reasons.

They're kind

of wrapped

up in this

one verse.

And here's

reason number

one verse

44.

That they

love the

glory that

comes from

men.

Okay.

If these

guys were

around today

they'd be

following

each other

on Twitter

they'd be

liking each

other's

tweets

they'd be

retweeting

each other's

tweets

in some

kind of

religious

echo

chamber.

They love

and they

exist for

their own

glory.

You get

this description

of the

Pharisees as

we move

through the

Gospels.

Right?

Just think

about two

longs.

They have

long robes

so that

everyone can

see how

important they

are and

they love

long prayers

so that

everyone can

hear their

eloquence.

They live

for the

praise of

men.

They love

the praise

of men

over and

above the

praise of

God.

So they're

glory stealers.

And reason

number two

verse 45

is that they

love self

justifying.

And if you

listen carefully

enough you'll

see how both

of these things

line up in what

Bogdan has just

shared with us.

That's why

verse 45 they

love the law

of Moses which I

take it is code

there for the

Ten Commandments.

How God had

told his

people having

saved them by

his power by

his grace to

live for him

and said that's

how I want you

to live for

me.

They had

become not a

means by which

they saw the

brokenness of

their own

hearts.

How just our

inability to

live up to

this holy

life that God

has called us

to and their

desperate need

of him.

But actually

they resorted

to being a

tick-bock

exercise by

which they

could say

done that,

not done

that, not

done that,

not committed

murder today.

And they

give the

impression that

they're good

with God

because they

haven't done

those certain

things.

And Jesus

sees straight

through it.

And there's

maybe something

you've got in

your mind

today.

You say

well religion

Christianity

is full of

hypocrisy.

And friends,

know how God

feels about

that.

When you

read the

Gospels,

what you'll

see is that

Jesus has

some of his

sharpest words

of rebuke,

not for the

moral failures,

but rather for

the religious

hypocrites.

He sees

straight through

it.

And Jesus

outs them on

it here.

And he

outs us on

it too.

Because here's

a confession.

I love my

own glory.

I love my

own praise.

I love it

when people

speak well of

me.

And I so

often trust

my attempts

at trying

to make

me good.

And dear

friends,

if that is

the hamster

wheel that

you're currently

on,

living for

the praise

of others,

trying to

get your

identity

from what

others think

about you,

then I'm

sure you'll

know that

that is a

lonely and

exhausting

place to

live your

life.

And the

message of

the gospel,

which is why

we're here

today,

to celebrate

yes,

what God

has done

in Bogdan's

life,

but more so

the Savior

who loves

us all.

Jesus comes

along,

and you've

got to get

this straight,

he doesn't

like me just

the way I

am.

That is the

gospel to

Lady Gaga.

It doesn't

work.

He doesn't

love me just

the way I

am.

He doesn't

like me just

the way I

am.

No,

Jesus goes

so much

better.

He loves

me despite

of who I

am.

And that's

the gospel

today.

spend any

time with

Jesus and

you'll soon

discover you

are dealing

with a

God who

doesn't just

tolerate people

who don't

like him.

You're dealing

with a God

who came to

die for his

enemies.

To the

extent that he

will offer

his life on

the cross

in the place

of death

that you and

I deserve

to die

to save

us from

our sin,

from an

eternal

existence,

facing his

wrath.

And so if

that's how

you and I

are saved,

then we've

got to

understand that

Jesus outed

us on the

cross as

people who

are in need

of that

salvation.

He outs

me as a

sinner and

he saves

me from

the vain

exercise that

is self-justifying.

And this is a

place where I

can be honest

about my

complete spiritual

need before

anyone in

the world.

Because it's

Jesus that

saved me.

It's not just

like he topped

up my attempts

at good

works.

No, no, no.

Jesus saved

me completely.

And he saves

me out of

that lonely

self-absorbed

existence where

I live for

my own glory.

He saves me

out of it

and he puts

a new heart

of flesh

in me

and he turns

me and he's

shaping me

so that the

way I want

to live my

life, the

very reason

that you and

I were made

was to exist

for and

bask in the

glory of

Jesus who

loves us.

You see,

here's what

Jesus knows

has happened

to their

hearts.

Verse 42,

he says,

you do not

have the

love of God

within you.

Right?

Their hearts

have gone

really hard.

It's like if

you've ever

left the lid

off of Play-Doh

for any length

of time,

spot the life

stage I am

at what

happens to

it,

what happens

to it?

It just

goes hard.

Right?

Can't do

anything with it.

It just

goes brittle.

And that's

what Jesus

is saying

about their

hearts here.

I'll be

honest with

you,

here's my

greatest fear

for my

Christian life.

And Bogdan,

make this

your greatest

fear as well.

That my

heart just

goes cold

and it

goes brittle

to the

point where

I just

don't have

the love

of God

in my

heart.

That my

heart grows

callous and

stops being

thrilled with

and molded

by the

Jesus who

loved me

and who

gave himself

for me.

it was

late 20th

century

American

theologian

J.

Gresham

Mackin

who once

said that

Christianity

is the

religion of

the broken

heart.

You see,

the human

heart will

find itself

in losing

itself.

And when

you discover

the life

that's in

Jesus,

it is the

most liberating

place to

be.

And so

my question

to you as

we begin to

wrap up is

do you know

him?

Have you

considered him?

Have you read

about him?

Have you spent

time with

him?

The one who

can give you

and I

living in

this world

hope in

the midst

of despair

and purpose

in the midst

of confusion.

That's

Jesus.

So what

do people

see in

this book?

I take

it the

answer is

that the

spirit of

God

through the

word of

God

does the

work of

God

in

satisfying

our

thirsty

and needy

souls

with the

Christ of

God.

Who as we

encounter him

here says

verse 40

come to me

whoever you

are come to

me and

have life.

you know

just as we

close and

maybe to

help convince

you of the

truth of

this let

me just

tell you a

story I

heard recently

from a

man who

works down

in London

called

Richard

Burgonan

and he

travels around

the country

telling people

about the

word of

God and

why they

should read

it and I

was hearing

him talk

and he

was telling

me about

this Chinese

woman who

once ran

up to him

and proceeded

to tell him

the story about

how she became

a Christian.

Now I don't

know if you

know the

history of

China but

it was in

the part of

that country's

history when

Mao was in

power and he

wanted to put

an end to

the influence

and the spread

of Christianity

and one of the

ways he sought

to do that

was to order

all the

Christian

missionaries

to get out

and so the

Christian

missionaries

left and

they took

everything with

them except

can you guess

it their

Bibles so

no missionaries

there but

tons of Bibles

there and the

locals being

quite resourceful

people they

found these

Bibles and

they found

that they were

made of really

good quality

paper so what

they did again

being resourceful

people is they

ripped the pages

up and this

one lady was

telling us

telling him

about her

family used

it to use

it as

wallpaper on

the family

home and

she was the

fifth generation

of someone in

her family to

become a

Christian because

they'd first

read about

Jesus on

the wallpaper

in the family

home what

they nicknamed

the Bible

room

convinces us

doesn't it

that the

power is in

the word of

God as the

spirit of God

takes the word

of God and

reveals to us

the glorious

Christ of God

that's right at

the centre of

it see people

why do people

love this book

Jesus says

it's because the

scriptures testify

about me

it's him

for God who

said let light

shine out of

darkness

made his light

shine in our

hearts to give

us the light

of the knowledge

of God's glory

displayed in the

face of Christ

and that's the

call this morning

as God speaks

to us through

his word

have you met

his son

do you know

his son

friends today

would be a

great morning

as we've heard

as we've sung

and as we've

prayed and we've

heard from

Bogdan just

about the

difference that

Jesus makes

today would be a

great day to

explore him if you

haven't done that

already we'd love

to do that if you

want to explore him

you want to read

the Bible with

someone there's

tons of them at

the back please

take one that's

our gift to you

but if you have

any questions about

any of this stuff

please do come and

speak to anyone

you've seen up

the front today

it would be our

joy to introduce

you to him

let me pray

and so father

we're just so

thankful for

Jesus today

there is just

simply no one

like him who's

in the business

of saving people

from their sin

and transforming

them so that

they become more

like him

and so father

we thank you

for this morning

where we've just

been enjoying

hearing about

the new life

that Jesus

gives

and so lord

I pray that

in this moment

now as we

finish up our

time together

and as we

spend some time

together afterwards

that your spirit

would be moving

amongst us

and would he

in our conversations

in our minds

and as we go on

from here and

meditate and think

about these things

may your spirit

reveal to us

a glorious

Jesus

and it's in his

wonderful name

that we pray

amen