Authority to Judge

today. There are many out there who have been thinking about the end of the world. Is COVID-19

the end of the world? Or is it the beginning of the end? Is it something that marks the end?

While most people would say no, there are some who are saying that it is.

Some of them are Christians. You don't have to look too hard online to find people on Twitter

or Facebook or YouTube who apparently have found the coronavirus in Bible prophecy.

One person on Twitter said, I don't know how serious the coronavirus is going to be, but

there was some passage in the book of Revelation from the Bible where it talks about a significant

portion of humanity being wiped out by disease and pestilence. In response to that, another

person chimed in and said, yes, the beginning of sorrows, Matthew 24, Australian wildfires,

coronavirus, earthquakes in odd places, increased rage and murders worldwide, massive hunger

increases, hashtag Jesus is coming. The end of the world is here. According to a religion

professor at the University of Alberta, there are some Christians out there claiming right

now that the Bible foretold this pandemic long ago, right there in Revelation where it talks

about one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse who represents pestilence or plague. He's galloping

across the globe right now is what he says some Christians are saying. The end of the world

is just around the corner. And whether people agree with that or not, it has got many people,

especially Christians, thinking about the end of the world. When it truly does come, what will it be

like? Well, Jesus long ago talked about the end of the world. He talked about what will happen in the

distant future. He talked about the final judgment. And unlike many of the voices out there on social

media right now, we can trust with certainty the words of Jesus. This morning, we look a little,

look at just a little of what Jesus had to say about the day of judgment. If you have your Bible with you,

please open it up to John chapter five. We've been working through the gospel of John,

the story of Jesus as told by John. And if you missed last week, last Sunday, I gave a bit of a

summary of all that's been happening up in the story of up until now in the story of Jesus. So if you,

if you missed that, I encourage you to just take a quick listen online to the first five minutes of

last Sunday's message. This morning, we find Jesus in Jerusalem. Jesus is having a heated discussion

with the religious leaders. Jesus has just healed a man on the Sabbath day. And now the religious

leaders are coming after him again. In fact, John tells us that Jesus was already on their wanted list.

Even before he did this, the religious leaders wanted Jesus dead. And now as they're having this

conversation with Jesus, they want him dead even more because of the things Jesus is saying.

Jesus has been claiming to have a special relationship with God, a father-son relationship

with God. The religious leaders have been listening to this and they hear him claiming to be that

on the same level with God or equal to God. Last Sunday, we heard Jesus speak these words at the end

of verse 20. He said, yes, and he, the father will show him the son, even greater works than these

so that you will be amazed. What is Jesus saying? The healing of that man by the pool of Siloam,

that guy who couldn't walk for 38 years, that's nothing. You're going to see more amazing things

than that. And then Jesus tells them about two amazing things that they will see.

And the first of these two things we talked about last Sunday, Jesus told them that just as the father

raises the dead and gives them life, so also the son raises the dead and gives life to whom he's

pleased to give it. That's something you will see. He told them that the time has come now for people

to hear and believe his words and receive eternal life. Jesus told them that they will one day see

something really amazing that he will do, that one day they will hear his voice calling them out of

their graves to final judgment. So the first amazing thing was that Jesus, he said, you will see that

the son of God has power to raise the dead back to life. This morning, we look at the second amazing

thing that Jesus says they will see, and it has to do with the final judgment at the end of the world.

We're going to pick it up in verse 21 here.

For just as the father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the son gives life to whom he is

pleased to give it. Moreover, another thing that you will see, the father judges no one, but has entrusted

all judgment to the son. Let me read those words again. The father judges no one, says Jesus,

but has entrusted all judgment to the son. Now let's imagine for a moment what the reaction of

the religious leaders would have been to that statement. I imagine they'd be thinking something

like this, like, do you hear what this man is saying? You're saying that God will not judge the

world. Why? Because he has, what, delegated that special right and responsibility to you? A mere man?

Blasphemy! Is probably what they're thinking. How dare you speak like that?

Perhaps some of them even had some of the Old Testament scriptures come to mind. Passages like

Psalm 75 verse 7, where it says,

Psalms 75:7

It is God who judges. He brings one down. He exalts another. Or passages like Isaiah 33, 22.

For the Lord is our judge, our lawgiver, our king. It is he who will save us. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God.

The Lord is one. There's only one God. And as Abraham said long ago, he is the judge of all the earth.

So who do you think you are, Jesus of Nazareth, to claim to have authority to judge?

That's what I imagine they might be thinking right now.

But this is what Jesus said that day.

The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son.

He's basically saying, listen, the Father and I are so closely intertwined in our working

that truthfully, he himself is not the one who does the final judging.

Rather, he has entrusted that responsibility to me.

Jesus is not saying that God will neglect his responsibility to bring justice to the world.

Rather, he's saying that God has chosen to carry out his justice

by entrusting the work of judging to his Son, to Jesus.

Do you hear what Jesus is claiming here?

He is claiming to be the one that we will all stand before someday.

He's claiming to be the one that we will examine the details of our lives, the things that we did,

the things that we said, our attitudes and motives that we carried.

He's claiming to be the one who will examine all these aspects of our lives

and then render judgment on God's behalf, determining what our final outcome will be.

Imagine you were there that day as Jesus said these words.

If these words are true, there is only one fitting response,

and that's to tremble in the presence of Jesus.

We might imagine a question rising in the thoughts of those who heard Jesus speak that day.

Assuming that what you're saying is true, Jesus,

why would God entrust or delegate his responsibility to judge to someone else,

to you, a mere man?

Is it not his responsibility alone to judge?

Isn't that one of the reasons that we praise him and give him glory and honor him?

Why would he give this privilege and authority to someone else,

no less to a human being?

Isaiah 42, verse 8,

Isaiah 42:8

I am the Lord.

That is my name.

I will not give my glory to another.

Jesus gives an answer to this very question.

The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son.

Why?

That all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father.

The reason my Father has entrusted all judgment to me

is so that all people may honor me,

just as they honor him.

So that all people may honor, may give praise and glory to me,

just as they give praise and glory and honor to God.

If there's any doubt about whether Jesus is claiming to be equal with God

or on the same level with God,

that doubt should be long gone by now.

If God does not share his glory with another,

and yet he does share his glory with this Jesus on purpose,

this Jesus man must be special.

He must be more than just a man.

He must, in some mysterious way,

be one with God himself.

And this is the truth that Jesus is steering us towards.

We talked about this on a previous Sunday, May 24th.

If you want to go back and watch that video on YouTube,

you can.

And Jesus said, or will say later on,

to one of his own disciples,

don't you believe that I am in the Father

and that the Father is in me?

It is the Father living in me

who is doing his work.

At another point, which we haven't got to yet in the story,

he will make this statement to the religious leaders

and say, I and the Father are one.

Two distinct persons,

and yet one and the same God.

Jesus is both truly human and truly divine.

John told us this at the very beginning.

He said that Jesus is more than just a human being.

He is the Word who was God

and was with God at the very beginning

before anything was made.

The Father loves the Son.

And so that the Son might be respected

and honored and glorified as he deserves to be,

God has entrusted this very special work,

the work of judging to his Son, Jesus.

And what kind of judgment are we talking about here?

Notice Jesus' words.

Has entrusted all judgment to the Son.

All judgment.

The ultimate and final judgment,

as we see in the verses which follow.

So, God has entrusted all judgment to the Son,

and he has done it so that the Son might be honored.

But he's done it for another reason.

There's another reason given in verse 27.

Jesus says this,

And he, the Father, has given him, the Son,

authority to judge.

Why?

Because he is the Son of Man.

Now, what does that mean?

In order to grasp this,

we need to understand that the Son of Man

is not just a poetic way to refer to Jesus being human,

the Son of a human being.

It does refer to Jesus' humanity,

but more than that,

it's a title which points back

to what God said long ago,

which we read earlier in the service

through the prophet Daniel.

God gave the prophet Daniel a vision,

and this is how Daniel described it,

as we read earlier.

In my vision at night,

I looked,

and there before me was one like a Son of Man

coming with the clouds of heaven.

This Son of Man approached the Ancient of Days

and was led into his presence.

He was given authority,

glory,

and sovereign power.

All nations and peoples of every language

worshipped him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion

that will not pass away,

and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

So, why has the Father entrusted

all judgment to his Son Jesus?

Because Jesus is this Son of Man,

which was prophesied long ago.

He is the one that God planned long ago

to give authority and sovereign power to.

Jesus is the one.

In God's plan,

God's kingdom is going to be established

on this earth

through Jesus,

the Son.

So, yes,

the Lord,

God,

the Ancient of Days,

is the judge

of all the earth.

And Jesus will say that

in John chapter 8.

John 8 · chapter mention

But God has chosen

to do the work of judging,

and especially the final judgment,

through his Son,

Jesus.

And in a very real sense,

this shouldn't really come

as a surprise

to the religious leaders.

If they really knew

their scriptures,

they would know

that God had planned

to give authority

and power

and even authority

to judge

to someone special

who would act

on his behalf.

Think back to the words

spoken by Isaiah,

the prophet,

which we read

at Christmastime.

For to us

a child is born,

to us a son

is given,

and the government

will be

on his shoulders.

Of the greatness

of his government

and peace,

there will be no end.

He will reign

on David's throne

and over his kingdom,

establishing

and upholding it

with justice

and righteousness

from that time on

and forever.

think of the words

Isaiah spoke

a little bit later.

A shoot will come up

from the stump

of Jesse.

From his roots,

a branch will bear fruit

and the spirit

of the Lord

will rest on him.

This one who will come,

he will not judge

by what he sees

with his eyes

or decide

by what he hears

with his ears,

but with righteousness

he will judge

the needy.

With justice

he will give decisions

for the poor

of the earth.

Isaiah 42,

Isaiah 42:1

verse 1,

Here is my servant

whom I uphold,

says the Lord,

my chosen one

in whom I delight.

I will put my spirit

on him

and he will bring justice

to the nations.

Is God the judge?

Yes.

But he has told us

long before all this

that he will bring justice

to the world,

to the nations,

through his chosen servant,

through a descendant

of Jesse

who will have

the spirit of the Lord

upon him,

through a human child

who will be born to us,

a son who will be given

to us.

And all of these words

spoken through Isaiah

were penned

in Hebrew

700 years

prior to this conversation

Jesus is having

right now.

Jesus is saying,

I am that one

one

whom God has said

he will give authority to.

I am that chosen servant.

I am

the son of man.

And you will see it

and you will be amazed

when the time comes.

God is the judge.

Yes.

But he will bring about

justice on the earth

through

Jesus,

his son.

that's what Jesus said.

And that's what the apostles

realized and understood

and taught as well.

Acts 10 42.

He,

Jesus,

this is Peter talking,

commanded us

to preach

to the people

and to testify

that he is

the one

whom God

appointed as

judge of the living

and the dead.

Paul in his

famous sermon

in Athens

said,

for he,

God,

has set a day

when he will

judge the world

with justice.

How?

By the man

he has appointed.

He's given proof

of this to everyone

by raising this man

from the dead.

Romans 2 verse 16,

Romans 2:16

Paul says,

this,

what I'm talking about

will take place

on the day

when God judges

people's secrets

through

Jesus Christ

as my gospel

declares.

From all of these

places in God's word

we hear

very clearly,

very strongly

that there is

a day of judgment

coming

at the end

of the world,

so to speak,

as we might say.

A day

when all people

will stand

before

the throne

of Jesus.

A day

when all people

will see the face

of this same man

who walked

the dusty streets

of Jerusalem

2,000 years ago.

Take a second here

and just imagine

what that moment

will be like

for you

to stand

before him.

he will examine

the details

of your life,

the things

that you did,

all the things

that you said,

the attitudes

and motives

you carried,

and yes,

even the secrets

and the hidden

things

that no one

knows about

but you.

He will examine

every aspect

of our lives

and render

judgment

on God's

behalf,

on behalf

of the Father

by the authority

that's been given

to him.

Let's be honest,

this is not

a heartwarming

truth

about Jesus.

It would be

if we were all

innocent,

good,

and perfect

people,

but we aren't.

this truth

puts a holy

fear of Jesus

into our hearts,

a reverence,

an awe,

a respect,

as it should

because all of us

have sinned

against God

in many ways.

We all fall

so far short

of his glory

and goodness.

We've all done

many of the things

that God has said

in his word

are wrong,

are sinful,

are evil,

but there is

good news.

There is

hope.

Listen to what

Jesus said

in verse 24.

Very truly,

I tell you,

whoever

hears

my word

and believes

him who sent

me

has eternal

life

and will

not

be

judged,

but has

crossed over

from death

to life.

Does that

sound like

good news?

Yes,

it does.

What does

Jesus mean

when he says

that whoever

believes and

hears his word

will not be

judged?

In the

original language

that this was

penned in,

that word for

judge can mean

two different

things.

In fact,

in English,

it can mean

two different

things as

well.

Judgment can

be the work

that the

judge does,

the work of

evaluating the

facts and

deciding between

giving a

decision or

a verdict,

innocent or

guilty,

right or

wrong.

But judgment

can also refer

very specifically

to the

sentence or

to the

punishment

that we

would receive

when we're

guilty before

the judge.

So which

one does

Jesus mean?

Does he

mean that

we will,

those of us

who hear his

words and

believe,

will get to

skip out on

the day of

judgment?

That we

won't have to

stand before

his throne and

answer for

what we have

done if we

believe his

words?

Or does he

mean that on

the day of

judgment it's

only those who

didn't believe

who will be

evaluated and

that the rest

will be passed

over?

I think what

Paul says in

his letter to

the Corinthian

church helps

clarify it for

us.

2 Corinthians 5

2 Corinthians 5:10

verse 10,

Paul says

this,

for we must

all appear

before the

judgment seat

of Christ.

And let's

remember that

Paul is writing

this to

Christians,

to believers,

to the church

at Corinth.

We must all

appear before

the judgment

seat of Christ

so that each

of us may

receive what is

due us for

the things

done while

in the body,

whether good

or bad.

And so I

think if we

bring this

together with

what Jesus

said, it's

clear.

When Jesus

says that

those who

hear his

word and

believe will

not be

judged, he

means not

that they

won't appear

before him

at the

judgment, but

that they

won't be

condemned.

Whoever

hears my

word and

believes him

who sent

me has

eternal life

and will

not be

judged, will

not be

condemned,

will not

be punished,

but is

crossed over

from death

to life.

This is

really good

news.

It's

frightening to

think that

one day we

will all

stand before

Jesus and

our lives

will be like

an open

book to

him.

Everything

we've done

and said

and thought,

all of our

secrets exposed,

but Jesus

says that

even though

this day

is coming

when we

will stand

before him,

whoever

hears and

believes his

words now

will receive

eternal life

and on that

day when I

call you out

of your grave,

says Jesus,

if you heard

and believed

my words,

you will not

be condemned.

Instead,

you will rise

to eternal

life,

to live

forever.

Do you

hear Jesus'

words?

Do you

believe

that the

Father sent

him to

speak them

to you?

It can be

all too easy

today to get

caught up in

the emotion

and the hype

that's come

about because

of the spread

of this virus

around the

world.

Is this the

beginning of

the end of

the world?

Is this the

start of the

one world

government?

Is this,

is Elon Musk's

Neuralink,

the precursor

technology to

the mark of

the beast?

The truth is

we don't know.

It's certainly

not clear or

obvious from

these kinds of

things that we

read about in

the news that

this is the

very end.

At least it

doesn't seem

that way from

what I read in

the scriptures.

leaders.

And so if

our thoughts

do go to

the very end

times, to

the end of

the world, I

hope and I

pray that they

will go to

what is clear

and to what we

can be certain

about, to what

is truly one of

the most

important realities

of the end of

times.

What Jesus said

that day to the

religious leaders,

believe that a

day is coming

when he will

judge the world

and bring justice

to the nations.

Final punishment

and condemnation,

justice is coming,

but there is a

way to be spared

what we all

deserve.

If we listen to

and believe the

words of Jesus,

the one God

has sent into

the world to

be the rescue,

to be the

savior, this is

the truth more

than anything

that our world

needs to hear,

especially in

times like this.

And so may we

believe it, may

we cling to it,

and may we

speak it with

gentleness and

respect and

love to those

who are willing

to listen.

Let's pray.

Father in

heaven, thank

you for these

words.

I pray and

ask that you

would give each

of us ears to

hear what you

are saying through

your son here.

Increase in all

of our hearts

faith and trust

in what you

have said through

Jesus.

We thank you

for this gracious

gift and

offer of

life, eternal

life, that we

don't need to do

anything for

except believe

and receive it

as a gift.

You're amazing,

Lord.

We pray this in

Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.