If You Do Not Believe...

Once again, we find Jesus teaching in the temple courts.

Yeah, he's teaching in the temple courts, and it's been a rather exciting time.

Jesus has said some pretty amazing things.

He's been pretty direct.

And the response of the people who has been there has been quite interesting as well.

Some believe in Jesus.

Others are skeptical.

Some misunderstand what he's saying.

Others have already made their judgment about him.

And then we saw how there are the religious leaders kind of lurking in the background in all this.

And finally, last Sunday, we saw how they finally challenged Jesus directly.

Let's pick up the conversation in verse 21.

Once more, Jesus said to them,

I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin.

Where I go, you cannot come.

It's almost the same thing that Jesus told them just the other day.

But it didn't stop him from saying it one more time.

He said, I am going away.

I'm about to leave you all.

And as with this last time, he says it again.

I'm going somewhere that you will not be able to follow me.

You won't be able to come.

Again, he also says, you will look for me.

Last time he said, you will look for me, but you will not find me.

This time he says something a little different.

He says, you will look for me, and in your sin you will die.

It's kind of an ominous statement.

And in your sin, you will die.

What does Jesus mean by this?

Surprisingly, this statement didn't seem to catch the attention of the people there.

They were more hung up on what he said just before that about going away to this place where they would not be able to come.

Verse 22.

This made the Jews ask, will he kill himself?

Is that why he says, where I go, you cannot come?

So yet again, we see that the Jews are confused.

They're trying to take Jesus at his word.

They're trying to understand something from what he's saying, but they're puzzled.

Some of them are wondering if he's talking about suicide.

Like there's only one place that you could go that we wouldn't be able to follow you.

That's death.

Are you planning to kill yourself?

I don't know what else he could mean.

Verse 23.

Jesus continues on.

He says, you are from below.

I am from above.

You are of this world.

I am not of this world.

Jesus is trying to help them understand.

And this is nothing new that he said.

We've heard him claim to be from heaven before.

But this time he seems to say it as clear as can be.

As direct as can be.

You are from below.

I am from above.

You are of this world.

I am not of this world.

I am not of this world.

In his appearance, he appears the same as them.

As a man.

But what he is trying to get across to them is that there is a big difference between me and you.

I am an alien.

I am an alien.

I am an alien.

He doesn't quite say it with those words.

But that's probably how some people are hearing these words of him.

Of his.

That's what an alien is, right?

Someone who's not from this world.

That's the language that Jesus uses.

I am not of this world.

Of course, Jesus has something that the typical sci-fi aliens don't have.

He has flesh and bones just like they do.

Let's just say it.

Let's just be honest.

What are the people in the crowd thinking as Jesus says this?

I am not of this world.

You are from below.

I am from above.

What are they thinking?

Some of them are probably thinking, man, this guy is out of his mind.

This guy is nuts.

Listen to him.

He's claiming to be from another world.

Yes, he is.

Or more precisely, he's claiming to be from another realm.

From heaven.

Verse 24.

Jesus goes on.

He says,

I told you that you would die in your sins.

If you do not believe that I am he,

you will indeed die in your sins.

The people are focused on this whole thing of where is he going?

Where is he going?

Jesus wants to steer the conversation to this one thing.

This very important thing.

He says,

I told you just a moment ago that you would die in your sins.

If you do not believe that I am he,

you will indeed die in your sins.

Again, Jesus brings the conversation back to this sobering statement,

this warning.

You will die in your sins if you do not believe that I am he.

What does Jesus mean by that?

What does it mean to die in your sins?

It's kind of a strange phrase to us.

It can't mean to just die in the ordinary way.

I mean, we all die eventually in the ordinary way.

Specifically, no.

Jesus says,

you will die in your sins.

That language is the same kind of language that God used when he spoke through the prophet Ezekiel.

Ezekiel chapter 3 verse 16.

Ezekiel 3:16

At the end of seven days,

the word of the Lord came to me,

says Ezekiel.

This is what the Lord said.

Son of man,

I have made you a prophet.

I have made you a watchman,

sorry,

for the people of Israel.

So hear the word I speak

and give them warning from me.

This is the Lord talking.

When I say to you,

to a wicked person,

you will surely die.

And you do not warn them

or speak out to dissuade them

from their evil ways

in order to save their life.

That wicked person will die

for their sin,

literally in their sin.

There's a little footnote in my Bibles.

In their sin.

And I will hold you accountable

for their blood.

Now there's a whole

other discussion going on here

about Ezekiel.

We're not going to go into all the details of that.

God had appointed Ezekiel

to be a messenger of warning.

A messenger who would warn

specifically wicked people.

When I say to a wicked person,

you will surely die.

And you do not warn them

or speak out to dissuade them

from their evil ways

in order to save their life.

That wicked person will die

in their sin

or for their sins.

So what does it mean

to die in your sin?

It means to die

because of your sins.

It means to receive

the judgment of God

that you are due

for the sin

that you have done against Him,

for the wrongs that you have done.

It means

here in these verses

that you did not follow

or listen to

the warning.

You did not turn away

from your wicked ways

or seek God's forgiveness.

To die in your sin

means that you are crossing

that threshold now

into eternity.

And after that

there is no way back.

If you cross that threshold

and you are still guilty,

you have no way

to deal with your guilt problem,

nothing to atone for your sins,

you are in big trouble.

And in these words of Ezekiel

I find those words

wicked and evil

to be so helpful.

Let's remember

this is God's choice of language.

He's the one who used

the word wicked

and evil

to describe

the ways of the people.

In our day and age

and even in many churches today,

unfortunately,

the word sin

has just lost its vileness.

We don't think of sin

as being wicked

or evil.

We think of it

in terms of

more of making a mistake.

But God's punishment

doesn't come upon people

just because they made

a whole bunch of

unintentional errors.

It comes upon people

because

we have done

what is wicked.

We have done

what is evil.

And it's no less

than we deserve.

So to die

in your sins

is terrifying.

It means to face

God's judgment

with nothing

to atone

for your sins.

Nothing to take away

your guilt.

And so what is Jesus

saying

to them?

If you do not

believe that I am He

you will indeed

die

in your sins.

He's saying two things.

First

there is a warning

in these words

and second

there is an invitation.

First

there is the warning.

It's like

Jesus is saying

I am here

now.

I'm the one

who has come

from above.

And if you reject me

and you look

for another Messiah

you will not

find Him.

I am the one

sent from above.

I am the one

sent from heaven

from God

to speak God's

words to you

just like

Ezekiel was

back in the day.

So Jesus

is here

to give the warning

to turn

people from

their sins

back to God.

If you do not

believe that I am He

says Jesus

you will die

in your sins.

You are headed

for disaster.

you will receive

the judgment

due.

These words

are a gracious

warning

a gracious

plea

so that the people

will acknowledge

what is coming

down the road

for them

if they do not

respond

if they refuse

to believe in Him.

But these words

are also

a gracious

invitation.

There's hope

in these words.

I wonder

do you hear it?

Do you see it?

Jesus says

unless you believe

that I am He

you will

indeed

die in your sins.

Do you hear

that great exception?

There's an exception.

There's an unless.

There's a way

that we cannot

die in our sins.

That we cannot

receive

what we are due

for the wrongs

we have done

against God.

Those who believe

that Jesus

is the one

are the exception.

They will be saved.

They will be spared.

They will be forgiven.

Their sins

will be atoned for.

Jesus uses

some very particular

language.

He says

unless you believe

that I am He.

The people

in the crowd there

they really latch

on to that.

That I am He.

who are you?

They ask.

And I don't know

the tone of voice

as they ask this.

I kind of wish

I was there to see it

and hear it.

Who are you?

Is this a sincere

who are you?

Okay.

Well who are you?

Tell us.

Or is this a skeptical

who are you?

Who do you think you are?

You know?

Who are you claiming

to be?

I don't know

but they ask the question

and Jesus answers it.

Just what I have been

telling you

from the beginning

Jesus replied.

It's an interesting answer.

Just what I have been

telling you

from the beginning.

The way Jesus responds

suggests that

they already know

the answer

to their own question.

You know who I am.

You know who I have been

saying that I am.

I have been saying it

all along.

Let's just refresh

our memories

of some of what

Jesus has said

about himself

up until now

just in the gospel

of John.

Just a second ago

he told him

that he was from above

that he was not

from this world.

Back in Galilee

he said

I am from heaven.

He told him

on many occasions

that he has been sent

by his father

God.

He's told him

that his testimony

is true

and that he is

the kind of person

who does not need

any human witness

to confirm

that what he says

is true.

He told him

back in verse 12

I am the light

of the world.

He's told him

that he is the bread

from heaven.

That special provision

of God

that gives life

to the world.

He's told him

that he is the son

of man.

He's told him

that he is the one

whose flesh and blood

must be given

so that the world

might have life.

He's told him

that he is the one

that they must believe

in in order to have

eternal life.

He's told him

that he is the one

who is back in chapter 5

been given authority

to judge

at the last judgment

and to raise people

from the dead

at the resurrection.

He's told him

that he is the son

of his father

God.

The son of God.

And the list goes on

and on and on

and this is just

one gospel.

I've been telling you

from the beginning

who I am.

You know

who I am.

And if you do not

believe that I am he

you will indeed

die in your sins.

This is your chance

to be saved.

This is your chance

to be forgiven

to have your

your sin problem

dealt with

your guilt

atoned for.

Do you hear Jesus

pleading with them?

Do you hear that

compassion in his heart

for them

as he speaks

these words?

Jesus goes on

in the next few verses

about three verses

26 to 29

and he tells them

a few more things.

We're not going to

go into all the details

of these verses.

Much of what Jesus

says here

has to do with

his own special

relationship with

the father.

And we've talked

about that in a number

of messages already.

John tells us

in verse 27

that some of the

people listening

did not understand

that he was telling

them about his

father.

Jesus,

just to sum it up

a little bit,

says again that

he only speaks

what God

the father

has taught him

to say

or told him

to say.

He tells him

that he doesn't

do anything

independently

from his father.

He mentions again

that he is not

alone.

that his father

is with him.

He tells him

that he always

does what pleases

God.

But one thing

that really caught

my attention here

is that Jesus

gives them

something specific

to watch for.

Look at verse

28.

Yes.

He says,

When you have

lifted up the

Son of Man,

then you will

know that I

am he.

At the end

of all this

conversation,

this is the sign

he gives them.

When you have

lifted up the

Son of Man,

then you will

know that I

am he.

This is to be

the confirmation.

Even before it

happens,

Jesus tells them

just how he

will die.

They will lift

him up.

They will lift

him up to be

crucified on

the cross.

Just as the

snake was

lifted up on

the pole in

the wilderness

long ago,

that whoever

could look to

it would be

saved.

The judgment

of God,

in the same

way,

Jesus will be

lifted up on

the cross so

that whoever

looks to him

can be spared,

can be forgiven.

But what's so

striking about

these words to

me, at least,

is that this

sign that he

gives them,

this sign that's

meant to be a

confirmation to

them, is also

the very reason

why some will

reject him.

Paul wrote

about this in

his letter to

the Corinthians.

He said,

we preach

Christ crucified.

That's lifted up

on the tree.

Christ crucified,

and he says

this, a stumbling

block to the

Jews.

amazingly and

mysteriously, the

very sign that

Jesus tells them

to watch for,

that you will

know that I

am he.

That's the

confirmation.

To some, it

will be the

confirmation.

They will see

him hanging

there on the

tree, and

they will know,

yes, he is

the one.

And to

others, it

will be the

place where

they reject

him.

And they

say, look,

see?

He wasn't

the one.

I told

you.

The final

response of

the people

again in

verse 30

to all

this is

mixed.

Even as

he spoke,

John writes,

many believed

in him.

Overall, it

sounds positive.

Many believed

in him.

But as we'll

see after Easter,

unfortunately,

the kind of

belief that

many of them

here have

is not the

kind of

faith that

Jesus is

calling them

to have.

So what

do we take

from all

this?

What can

we take

from this

for ourselves

this morning?

I've said it

many times,

but I will

say it again.

I think we

need to

emphasize this.

The most

important thing

we need to

sort out,

first of

all,

do we

believe

that Jesus

is the

one?

Do we

believe that

Jesus is

the one?

And I

know as I

look around

the room,

I know

from,

I think

all of

you,

yes,

you believe

that.

And so my

application this

morning is

mainly focused

on,

do the

people around

us believe

this?

How should

we deal

with them?

How should

we talk

to them?

Jesus said,

unless you

believe that

I am he,

you will

indeed die

in your

sins.

Do we

look at

other people

in our

lives and

in our

community

and see

them through

that lens?

I almost

wanted to

title this

message this

morning,

three or

four or

five things

Jesus would

say to

the world

if he

came in

our

day?

What would

Jesus have

said to

the world

if he

came in

our

day?

I believe

that if he

came in

our day,

he would

have said

the exact

same kinds

of things

to the

people of

the world.

I believe

he would

have had

his mouth

into the

CBC

microphone

and looked

the camera

right into

the lens

and said,

you are

from below.

and I

am from

above.

I believe

he would

have typed

into the

Facebook

comments,

you are

of this

world.

I am

not of

this

world.

If he

was to

get up

in front

of a

crowd

gathered

in our

street

right here

in Davidson,

he would

say,

I believe,

if you

do not

believe

that I

am he,

you will

indeed die

in your

sins.

You will

face the

just

punishment

of God

for every

wicked

thing you

have done.

And the

people in

our world

would respond

just the

same.

Some would

reject him

with hard

hearts,

some would

mock him

and insult

him,

others would

receive the

message

positively

for a

little

while and

then it

would

kind of

fade into

the

background

and get

choked

out by

other

things that

are more

important to

them.

And yes,

some would

receive it

and respond

from faith

and believe

and trust

him.

This is the

way it was

back when

Jesus walked

the earth.

And this is

the way it

still is in

our world

today.

Jesus didn't

try to make

his message

into something

that the

people would

love.

Instead,

he told

people the

truth.

He was

unashamed.

He told

the people

the truth

right to

their faces.

You are

in danger.

You are

in great

danger

because of

your sins.

Yes,

you are

guilty before

God for

doing the

wrong things

you have

done.

And unless

you believe

that I am

he, you

will die

and face

judgment.

This is an

intolerant and

unloving

message in

the view of

some people

today.

true love

tells people

the truth

even if

it is hard

truth that

needs to

be heard

but that

they don't

want to

hear.

So I

think this

is what we

can take

from this.

When we

talk to

people about

Jesus,

when those

conversations

happen where

we get the

chance to

speak about

Jesus,

we should

not be

afraid to

speak about

sin.

We should

speak about

it gently

and carefully

and it

may be

uncomfortable.

They may

feel convicted.

It may be

offensive to

some but

this is the

real danger

that the

people all

around us

are in.

And unless

they believe

that Jesus

is the one

and grab

a hold of

the lifeline

that he

is with

all their

hearts,

they will

perish.

just as

we would.

Second,

we should

not hesitate

to tell

people that

our love

and our

worship and

our loyalty

and our

hope is

found in

someone who

is not

from this

world.

Maybe you

want to

fish for a

conversation

about Jesus.

Tell people

that you're

waiting for

someone who

is not

from this

world to

come and

fix all

of the

problems

and all

of the

brokenness

in our

world.

You might

get some

strange

looks,

but this

is the

message that

Jesus

proclaimed.

This is

what they

need to

hear.

Jesus was

not just

an ordinary

man who

lived in

history.

He is

from above.

He is

the one

not from

this world.

They're

going to

think we're

crazy,

some of

them.

That's

okay.

The good

news,

our salvation

depends on

one coming

from above,

not just

one coming

from below,

from earth.

Third, we

should remind

people graciously

and gently

that death

is coming

for all of

us.

Time is

running out.

Jesus said

it.

He said,

if you do

not believe

that I am

he, you

will indeed

die in

your sins.

Many of

those people

wouldn't have

even died

for maybe

decades to

follow.

And yet

Jesus reminded

them that

it is

coming.

We all

will die.

Do you

have the

remedy for

your sins,

for your

guilt before

you cross

that threshold?

Finally,

we should

point people

to the

cross itself,

to that

moment where

Jesus was

executed,

where he

died to

atone for

our sins.

Jesus

himself told

the people,

look to

that moment

when you

have lifted

up the

son of

man,

then you

will know

that I

am he.

Don't be

afraid,

don't be

ashamed to

speak about

the cross,

an instrument

of torture

and yet the

means of

our salvation.

It's at the

cross that

God's love

is most

powerfully

seen.

Some will

stumble over

this,

some will

think it's

foolishness,

but we

must proclaim

the death

of Jesus.

We must

proclaim the

cross.

If Jesus

spoke like

this and

said these

kinds of

things to

the world,

how much

more should

we,

as his

witnesses,

say the

same things

about him?

This is

our task.

And I'll

leave you

with two

words,

one from

the Lord

Jesus and

one from

the Apostle

Paul.

The Lord

Jesus said

this,

he said,

whoever is

ashamed of

me and

my words,

the Son

of Man

will be

ashamed of

him when

he comes

in his

glory and

in the

glory of

the Father

and of

the holy

angels.

God's

love.

And Paul,

he said it

this way,

and may

this be

our heart

and our

mind,

may this

be our

attitude,

he said,

for I am

not ashamed

of the

gospel,

because it

is the

power of

God that

brings salvation

to everyone

who believes,

whether Jew

or Gentile.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Father in

heaven,

thank you

that you

sent your

son into

this world

to save

us.

Thank you

that he

came and

fearlessly

pled with

the people

that day

so that

any who

were listening

might be

saved.

We

profess our

faith in

you,

Lord Jesus.

Yes,

we believe

that you

are the

one.

Help us

to proclaim

that message

well in

this community.

Help us

to share

that message

well with

the people

that we

know who

don't believe

you.

Give us

opportunities

to speak.

Give us

boldness.

Give us

courage.

We want

to be

your witnesses

and do

that role,

that job

that you've

given us

to do

well.

We love

you,

Jesus.

You are

our king.

We pray

this in

your name.

Amen.