John 10:17

Well, thank you, Paul, for your kind welcome.

It's a pleasure to be with you this morning.

It was a delight to share in Gethin and Katie's wedding.

!

But God is rich in mercy and is long-suffering, and we're just delighted to share in the happy occasion.

I'd like this morning to consider with you profound words that we read in verse 17 of John chapter 10.

John 10 · chapter mention

For this reason, the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.

For this reason, the Father loves me.

Augustine, the remarkable early church father, late 4th, early 5th century, preached through the Gospel of John,

and he stated on one occasion,

the Gospel of John is shallow enough for a child to paddle in and deep enough for an elephant to swim in.

And when you read through the Gospel of John, you immediately understand what Augustine meant.

You read beautifully crafted narratives that just sweep you along with their simplicity, their richness, their evocativeness.

Think of Jesus' encounter with the woman in John chapter 8.

John 8 · chapter mention

It's vivid, it's powerful, it's imaginative.

And Augustine himself, as he comes to the conclusion of his exposition, says,

there remained but two, misery and mercy.

And all of the encounters that the Lord Jesus has are so simple at one level.

They just sweep you along with their beautiful simplicity.

And then also you have these remarkable egocentric statements of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus was uninhibitedly egocentric.

I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except by me.

I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

And so when you read through John's Gospel, you quickly discover that you can read this Gospel to your children in their almost infancy

and confront them with the beauty, the simplicity, the richness of language that you find throughout John's Gospel.

But then, of course, there are places in John where you find yourself utterly out of your depth.

Think of the opening words of the Gospel, which really are the window through which we are to read the whole Gospel.

John has written his Gospel, you remember, at the end of chapter 20,

so that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ and that by believing we may have life in his name.

The Gospel of John is an evangelistic tract, 15,635 words long, at least in the Greek text.

And so from beginning to end, John is out not simply to inform us, but to persuade us.

And right at the outset, he confronts us with profundity that takes us totally out of all our comfort zones.

In the beginning was the Word.

The Word was with God.

The Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

And John deliberately, right at the outset of his Gospel, confronts us with profundity.

Almost to make us gasp.

And to leave us wondering, who is this Jesus?

And so Augustine really, I think, is profoundly right when he says,

the Gospel is shallow enough for children to paddle in,

but it's deep enough for elephants to swim in.

And it's this out-of-our-depth passage in verse 17 in particular

that I want to reflect on with you this morning.

For this reason, the Father loves me

because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.

Now, from times eternal, the Son of God was the adoring object of his Father's love.

Think of how the Lord God Almighty punctuates history on three occasions

to declare, this is my beloved Son.

There was never a time when the Son was not beheld in love by his Father.

The Holy Trinity is a communion of love.

God is love.

God is not a solitary monad as in Islam.

He is a communion, a community, a fellowship, a triad of love.

And from times eternal, the Father beheld the Son

with a love that had no beginning and that had no ending.

This is Christianity 101.

It's so basic, isn't it?

It's where we begin our thinking about the gospel of God.

Now read verse 17.

For this reason the Father loves me,

because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.

I've often pondered these words.

I remember, I can't remember when it was,

it must be many, many, many, many, many years ago now

that I first read them,

and was arrested immediately by them.

For this reason the Father loves me?

But surely you were loved, Lord Jesus,

as the Son of the Father from times eternal.

What do you mean,

for this reason the Father loves you?

How are we to understand Jesus' words here?

Well, very simply in this way,

that God the Father's love for his Son

is multi-dimensional, multifaceted.

First of all, as I've already said,

there is his love of eternal complacency,

his love of sheer delight

in who his Son is.

The Son is autotheos.

He is God in himself.

He doesn't owe his Godhead to the Father,

but he is the Son of the Father.

And as the Father beheld his equal,

but the Son,

who eternally was begotten of him,

he ever beheld him in love.

The Son needed to do nothing

to merit the love of his Father.

By virtue of who he is,

the heart of the Father,

if I can use such language,

the heart of the Father

was ever traveling to his Son.

Beholding the Son

was the Father's delight in eternity.

If you like,

this is the love of withness

that John has hinted at

right at the beginning of his Gospel.

In the beginning was the Word.

The Word was with God.

Literally, almost,

the Word was face to face with God.

And the Word was God.

There was an eternal withness

to the relationship of the Father

and of the Son.

And so there is, first of all,

then, this love of eternal complacency.

But secondly,

and it's this that Jesus

is speaking about here,

there is the Father's love

of responsive admiration.

He loved the Son

from times eternal

by virtue of who he is.

But here,

there is a new dimension unfolding

in the Father's love to the Son.

The love of responsive admiration.

Because Jesus here is speaking

in his anointed

and appointed capacity

as the mediator,

the redeemer of God's elect.

He is here in his holy humanity,

giving to the Father

that obedience that he had pledged to him

in times eternal

in the covenant of redemption.

Here I am.

I delight to do your will,

O God,

as we find it in the 40th Psalm.

He has come into the world

in obedience to his Father.

And that obedience that he pledged

in times eternal

was an obedience that would take him

from glory to Golgotha.

Now, you must not think

that in times eternal,

the Son of God

understood

what it would mean for him

to become flesh

and take that holy humanity

to the cross of Calvary.

that's why in the Garden of Gethsemane,

as the horror

of what awaited him

approached him inexorably,

and as his human soul

began to taste

what it would mean for him

to be obedient unto death,

he shrank back.

Father,

if it is possible,

take this cup

from me,

but not my will,

but yours

be done.

Here he stands

in his holy,

fragile,

frail

humanity,

and he is standing

as the one

who is pledged

in love to the Father

to be obedient

unto death,

a death

that would be

for him

the death

of a sinner.

He himself

in himself,

holy,

harmless,

undefiled,

separate from sinners,

but in our place

he would stand

cursed and condemned.

he would bear

the wrath of God,

the righteous

wrath of God

that our sin

deserved.

And as the Father

watches the obedience

of his Son,

the Son that he loved

from times

eternal,

a new

love

bursts

forth

from God

the Father.

the love

of a Father's

admiration

for an obedient,

loving

Son.

And this is what

Jesus

is speaking about

here.

For this reason

the Father

loves me

in my capacity,

in my ordained,

anointed capacity

as the Redeemer

of God's elect,

as the one

who had come

into the world

to be the Savior

of the world.

who would die

the just

for the unjust

to reconcile

sinners to God.

In that capacity,

new love

bursts

forth

from heaven.

Now perhaps

you're thinking

as you listen

this morning,

well Ian,

how then

are we

to understand

the deafening

silence

of heaven

as the Lord

Jesus Christ

hung

on Calvary's

cross?

My God,

my God,

why

have you

forsaken me?

And he

was truly

forsaken me.

He wasn't

imagining

being forsaken.

He said,

why have you

forsaken me?

He was

forsaken

of God

as he

became

our sin

atoning,

wrath

quenching

sacrifice

in our

place

on Calvary's

cross.

How are we

to understand

the deafening

silence?

Certainly

he was

forsaken.

but not

for

one

moment

was he

unloved.

I'm

persuaded

that the

father's

love

for his

son,

his love

of responsive

admiration

for his

son,

reached its

omega point,

its highest

point.

As he

forsook

his son

on Calvary's

cross.

I remember

yet some

years ago

now a good

friend of

mine

preaching

and he

said,

even as

the father

was laying

upon him

the iniquity

of us all,

he was

saying,

if ever I

loved thee,

my Jesus,

tis now.

as the

father

beholds the

son,

as our

appointed

representative,

about to

be offered

up

as an

atoning

sacrifice

for sin,

the love

of responsive

admiration

bursts forth

from heaven.

Now,

what I

really want

to focus

on with

you this

morning,

with that

as the

prelude,

is to

make this

profound

point,

I think,

that this

pattern of

eternal love

and responsive

admiring

love

is reflected

in the

love that

the Lord

Jesus

has for

his people.

If you

turn over

to John

John 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15,

you'll see

the point,

I hope.

John 15

at verse

9.

As the

father has

loved me,

so have

I loved

you,

abide

in my

love.

If you

keep my

commandments,

you will

abide in

my love,

just as I

have kept

my father's

commandments,

and abide

in his

love.

Just as

the father's

love for

his son

is

multidimensional,

so the

son's

love for

his people

is

multidimensional.

We have

been loved

in Christ

from times

eternal.

Gerhardus

Voss,

the

remarkable

Dutch

biblical

theologian,

put it

astonishing

when he

said,

the reason

God will

never stop

loving you

is because

he never

began

to love

you.

I have

loved you,

Jeremiah 31,

with an

everlasting

love.

He has

loved us

with a

love that

is no

beginning

and that

has no

ending.

And the

reason he

will never

stop loving

his people

is because

he never

began to

love them.

electing

gracious,

sure,

certain,

unchanging

love.

But,

along with

this

unchanging

love,

there is

a love

of responsive

admiration.

Jesus

says,

we will

abide in

his love

if you

keep my

commandments,

just as I

have kept

my father's

commandments

and abide

in his

love.

If Jesus

had deviated

one iota

from his

pledged

obedience to

the father,

he would

have forfeited

the father's

love of

responsive

admiration.

That's what

he says.

If you

keep my

commandments,

just as I

have kept

my father's

commandments,

and abide

in his

love.

Now,

here is the

point I

really want

to leave

with you

and with

myself this

morning.

The Lord

Jesus never

stops loving

his people

in our

weakness,

in our

fragility,

in our

failures.

He never

stops loving

us.

We are

bone of

his bone

and flesh

of his

flesh.

We have

been united

to him

indissolubly

by the

Holy Spirit.

He will

never

stop

loving

us.

But,

his love

can be

grieved

by our

sin.

His love

can be

grieved.

I can

never read

what Paul

writes in

Ephesians 4

about grieving

the Holy

Spirit without

stopping and

pausing and

thinking,

Lord,

does someone

like me,

a worm of

the earth?

Am I

able to

grieve

God?

Am I

able to

disappoint you

and grieve

you,

the unchanging,

unchangeable,

triune God

who is from

everlasting to

everlasting?

Yes,

the Bible

tells me

so.

Philosophically,

you might

say,

ah,

but Ian,

Ian,

Ian,

God is

impassable.

who would

deny it?

I am the

Lord,

I change

not.

That I

read in

his word,

I can

grieve

his spirit.

In all

our afflictions,

the Bible

tells me he

is afflicted.

I would

rather live

by the

text of

Holy

Scripture

than by

the

logical,

philosophical

teachings of

Thomas Aquinas.

There's a

mystery here,

there's a

profundity here,

but we are

to live on

the basis

of the

revealed

word of

God.

God can

be grieved

by our

sin,

and in

the same

way,

his love

can be

heightened

by our

loving,

wholehearted

obedience.

as the

Father has

loved me,

so have

I loved

you.

Notice the

parallelism,

abide in

my love,

and if you

keep my

commandments,

you will

abide in

my love.

This is all

simply to say

this, if you

take anything

away with you

this morning,

take this

away with

you.

Our

Savior

takes a

special

delight

in his

people's

loving

obedience.

Now,

obedience in

no way

contributes to

our salvation,

we know

that.

It is all

of grace,

from beginning

to end.

As Paul

prayed,

even the

faith with

which we

believe,

that even

that trembling

faith is

itself the

very gift

of God's

grace.

obedience

contributes

nothing to

our standing

before God,

but your

heart

obedience can

delight your

God.

And so the

question I

really want to

ask this

morning is

very simple.

Do you

not want to

delight the

Lord?

Do you

not want to

please him?

Do you

not want to

show in

your life

that he

is your

greatest

good?

That he

is the

king before

whom you

bow,

the savior

whom you

embrace?

Do you

not want to

delight him

and please

him?

for this

reason the

father loves

me?

Because I

lay down

in obedience

to him

my life

for my

sheep.

Loving

obedience

is the

new

lifestyle

of the

Christian

believer.

It is the

new lifestyle

that every

Christian

believer

is brought

into

through the

gospel.

And do you

know why?

I'm sure

already you

anticipate my

next statement.

Because what

does the

gospel do?

It unites

us to the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

And who

is this

Lord Jesus

Christ to

whom we

have been

united as

branches to

the vine?

He is the

obedient,

loving son

of the

father.

And the

obedient,

loving nature

of the

God

man

flows

by the

ministry of

the spirit

into our

lives.

And we

are being

changed from

one degree

of glory

to another.

And what

are these

degrees of

glory?

They are

degrees of

loving

obedience

to the

holy will

of the

father

revealed

in his

word.

There's a

wonderful

statement

Paul makes

in Romans

6.

You'll

come to

it.

We've

been

following

a little

these

services,

Joan and

I, and

just love

being with

you on a

number of

occasions

through Romans.

You'll

come to

Romans 6,

17, where

Paul uses

very striking

language.

He says

that through

the gospel

we have

been poured

into a

mold.

And that

mold is the

person of

the Son of

God.

It's not a

doctrinal

mold.

Well, it is a

doctrinal mold,

but the

doctrine is

embedded in

the person

of the

Son.

You never

separate the

doctrines of

the gospel

from the

one who

is himself

the doctrine

of the

gospel,

Jesus

Christ.

And Paul

says the

gospel comes

and it

pours us

idiosyncratically.

We don't

all become

clones of

one another.

We are

to become

clones of

the God

man,

Jesus

Christ,

in our

own

idiosyncratic

humanity.

And as

we seek

to live

out our

lives of

loving

obedience,

bursts

of

responsive,

admiring

love

comes from

heaven.

God

that

only

does

the

father

say

this

is

my

beloved

son.

Do

you

see

the

loving

obedience

that he

is

giving

me

even

unto

the

death

of a

cross

that he

cannot

yet

mentally,

emotively,

spiritually

comprehend?

end. Take that to ourselves. I've little doubt. Remember with Job, God says to Satan,

behold my servant Job. Would you not want the father to be saying to the angelic hosts

this morning, behold that daughter of mine, do you see? The loving obedience that she

unreservedly gives to me. Do you see that devoted little boy, girl who is seeking in the simplicity

of their union with Christ to please me? We've been loved with an everlasting love.

It has no beginning, it will have no end, but embedded within that there are bursts

of heavenly admiration. I think it's one of the hallmarks of the new birth.

How do I know I've been born again? Because, you know, some of your mothers, some births are dramatic,

not so many actually, most, well what do I know? But I've had four, I've watched four births. One was

pretty dramatic and the other three just happened to appear. Well don't ask Joan that, but they can

have happened to appear. And you say, well how do I know I've been born again? Well let me simply ask

you. In your heart of hearts, do you long to please the Lord?

Lord, I've been tempted to live a life that will bring forth from him bursts of loving admiration.

The reason the Father loves me, who had loved me from times eternal, but the reason he now loves me

is that I lay down my life for my sheep. Loving, unreserved obedience brings forth bursts

of heavenly admiration.