Are You Ready?

If you have your Bible with you, please open it up to the Gospel of John.

As we get back into the swing of things this fall, we're going to continue on in our journey through the Gospel of John.

We began this journey way back in January, and we continued the series by video once services were suspended because of COVID,

right up until about the end of May, and then we kind of hit the pause button.

And summer came, a bit of an extended summer for many.

Many people were traveling in a way, and many of us spent time camping, visiting family and friends.

So we were in Proverbs for a bit, but now with fall right around the corner and school starting up again,

we want to get back into the swing of things as well, and we're going to pick up where we left off in John.

So let's start this morning by remembering what we've heard in this account from John so far.

We're going to do a bit of a flashback here over a number of messages.

If we remember back to the very beginning, we remember that John starts this story by telling us how the story of Jesus began.

But of course, he starts at a different place than the other Gospel writers.

He tells us that Jesus is the Word who was at the very beginning, and that he was with God and was God back then,

that through him all things were made, and that he became flesh and stepped down into our world and became one of us.

From there, we heard how John, I guess his introductory comment, he said,

we saw his glory.

We saw how he is full of grace and truth.

And that's been kind of something we've been looking for throughout this series,

to see the glory of Jesus, how he is full of grace and truth.

From there, we heard about the delegation that was sent by the religious leaders from Jerusalem

out to the Jordan River near Bethany, where John the Baptizer was dunking people in the river

and proclaiming that there was someone special who was coming after him.

And then, of course, we were there and heard about that moment when that someone special came.

Jesus came out to John, and in front of everyone, John pointed to him and said,

look, everyone, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

We saw how some of Jesus' first disciples began to follow him.

And we felt the excitement about who Jesus was.

We have found the Messiah, said Andrew.

Rabbi, you are the Son of God, the King of Israel.

Nathanael declared Nathanael in his first encounter with Jesus.

And Jesus said to them, you ain't seen nothing yet.

From there, we went to Cana, where Jesus performed his first sign.

He turned water into wine.

Then we followed Jesus up to Jerusalem, where he drove the money changers and sellers out of the temple courts.

Stop turning my father's house into a market.

We heard about how he performed other signs and miracles there in Jerusalem,

and how John and the other disciples began to see how Jesus knew things about people.

He seemed to know things that they were thinking in the quiet of their own hearts.

We saw an example of this with Nicodemus, who came and acknowledged,

you're doing things that nobody could do unless God were with him.

And we listened in on the conversation they had about the need to be born again in order to enter the kingdom of God.

We heard then about how the spotlight and the attention that was on John the baptizer began to shift now to Jesus,

as the people began to go to him instead.

We followed Jesus through Samaria, and we saw how he was full of grace and truth towards the woman at the well,

and the people of Sychar, many who came to believe that he was the Messiah.

Then we saw Jesus go back into Galilee, where he was met with initial excitement,

but also with stubborn-heartedness and unbelief.

We saw him do another amazing sign and heal the royal official's son from a distance.

Now, Jesus is back in Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals.

He has just healed a man who had been unable to walk for 38 years at the Pool of Siloam.

And he did this on the Sabbath.

And the religious leaders have come after him with a charge of breaking the Sabbath.

This is in John chapter 5.

John 5 · chapter mention

Jesus has given his defense.

Amazingly, he has not denied working on the Sabbath.

He instead has claimed that both God, his Father, and he, the Son, are always at work together.

That as they do their works, they work in unison, even on the Sabbath.

Let's pick up what Jesus is saying in John chapter 5, verse 19.

John 5:19

Jesus gave them this answer.

Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself.

He can only do what he sees his Father doing.

Because whatever the Father does, the Son also does.

For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.

Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these so that you will be amazed.

So we spent a couple Sundays of messages reflecting...

Just go back there.

I'm not doing it, eh?

Maybe the battery's dead on that.

That's a good place to leave it.

So we spent a couple Sundays of messages just reflecting on this profound mystery of how the Father and the Son are two persons,

and yet one and the same God acting in unison.

The Father is continuously showing the Son what he is doing.

And the Son is seeing what his Father is doing and acting in unison together with him.

And then in the midst of all of this conversation with the religious leaders,

Jesus makes this statement.

He says, yes, and he, the Father, will show him, the Son, even greater works than these so that you will be amazed.

So Jesus is saying, the healing of that man who couldn't walk for 38 years,

you're going to see greater things than that.

Things that will cause your jaw to drop to the floor.

You'll be amazed.

Now let's pause for a moment and think.

What's greater than being able to heal somebody who has not been able to use his legs for almost 40 years in an instant?

That's pretty amazing.

Who can do that?

Nobody.

Nobody but God.

So what's greater than that?

Well, there's not a whole lot of levels above that in terms of spectacular.

I wonder what the religious leaders are thinking here.

Like, what kind of greater works is Jesus talking about?

Well, amazingly, Jesus goes right to the top of the list.

Not just a little bit greater, but a lot greater.

And he makes this statement in verse 21.

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.

Like, whoo!

That's a greater work.

It's one thing to heal a living man's paralyzed condition so that he can walk,

but it's a whole nother level to bring a man back to life from the dead.

There can be no doubt here.

Only God can do that.

And Jesus affirms that this is something that God does.

He says,

For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life,

let's stop and think for a moment.

When has God raised the dead and given them life?

At this moment in history, as Jesus stands before them,

it's only happened three times

that are recorded in the Old Testament Scriptures.

You might remember some of those stories.

By the power of God, Elijah raised the prophet.

He raised from the dead the son of the widow of Zarephath.

By the power of God, Elisha raised from the dead the Shunammite woman's son.

And then there was that one unnamed guy

whose funeral was interrupted by a raiding party.

And so they took his body and quickly threw it into Elisha's tomb.

And his body touched Elisha's dead bones

and God caused his own power to flow through Elisha's dead bones.

And that guy was raised from the dead.

We might say it's the ultimate miracle of healing,

which God's power did.

Only three times in all human history,

up until this conversation that Jesus is having,

has someone been raised from the dead and given life again.

And Jesus is looking at these religious leaders and saying,

just as God does that,

the Son also does that to whoever he wants,

to whoever he is pleased to do it.

I've said it many times,

but I would have loved to have been there

just to see the look on people's faces,

the reaction on their faces as Jesus said this.

But it gets even better than this.

Verse 24.

Jesus says,

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.

Let me read it again.

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.

Do you hear what Jesus is saying here?

He's not just claiming to be able to give life to people

like those three times in the Old Testament

when dead people came back to life.

We all know that those three individuals

eventually died again.

No.

Jesus makes it pretty clear here

that the kind of life

that he is talking about giving to people

is not just a second chance,

here and now kind of life.

The kind of life he is talking about giving to people

is eternal life.

Life that goes on forever.

The never to die again kind of life.

And it's here that some of us have to admit

that Jesus is talking about

an even greater kind of raising from the dead

than we all thought he was at first.

He's talking about the ultimate resurrection.

The kind that results in people

not receiving the final sentence

of God's judgment.

Listen to Jesus in verse 25.

Very truly I tell you,

a time is coming

and has now come

when the dead will hear the voice

of the Son of God

and those who hear

will live.

What is Jesus talking about?

Well I think first notice

the sense of time in Jesus' words.

He says a time is coming

and has now come.

There's a few possibilities

of how to take these words

but it seems to me

from those words

has now come

that Jesus is saying

that the time is here

right now.

We're on the edge of it

and it's unfolding

right now.

What time?

A time

when the dead

will hear the voice

of the Son of God

and those who hear

will live.

Now we might be tempted

to think that Jesus

is talking specifically

about people like Lazarus

or Jairus' daughter

but as we just heard

in verse 24

Jesus is not talking

about that kind of

life from the dead.

He's talking about

eternal life.

Ultimate life.

And so it seems

that Jesus is not

referring to the dead

dead

but to the living dead.

To those who are

spiritually dead.

To those who are

as good as dead

when it comes to

God's final judgment.

The time has come

now

says Jesus

when people will hear

the voice

of the Son

of God

and when they do

those who hear

those who believe

will cross over

from death

to life.

They will come alive

now

not with

their

not in their

physical bodily life

they already have that

but with spiritual life

their status

in God's

books

forever changed.

We might think

back to Jesus

talking with

Nicodemus

about being

born again

receiving new

life

in our souls

in our spirits

by the Spirit

of God.

But

Jesus says

that's just the

beginning

that's the first

part

people here

and now

will hear

my words

and believe

and come alive

with new

eternal life

that I will

give them.

but the end

of the story

he goes

right

not right

to it

but in

verse 28

he gets

to it

we're going

to skip

over a few

things here

verse 28

Jesus says

this

do not

be amazed

at this

for a time

is coming

when all

who are

in their

graves

will hear

his voice

and come

out

those who

have done

what is

good

will rise

to live

and those

who have

done

what is

evil

will rise

to be

condemned

so

so Jesus

is talking

about the

full spectrum

of life

from the

dead

the spiritual

life from

the dead

which those

who hear

his words

and believe

will receive

can receive

right now

but he goes

on to say

that there

will yet

come a time

in the future

when the

physically

dead

in their

graves

will hear

his voice

and come

out

and notice

who he's

talking about

there in

verse

28

a time

is coming

when all

who are

in their

graves

will hear

his voice

and come

out

he goes

on to say

this includes

both those

who will

rise to

live

and those

who will

rise to

be condemned

the righteous

and the

wicked

those who

belong to

God

to Christ

and those

who do

not

so in

these

few

verses

Jesus is

talking about

two things

both

spiritual

life

here and

now

that we

may

receive

by

believing

in his

words

but also

ultimate

eternal

life

after we

die

at the

final

resurrection

resurrection

when

all people

are brought

back to

life

to be

sorted out

in the

final

judgment

and

you know

I had

to chuckle

as I was

reading these

words

in verse

28

Jesus says

do not

be amazed

at this

do not

be amazed

at this

and then he

tells them

that it's

his voice

the voice

of the

son of

God

that they

will hear

calling

them out

of their

graves

before the

final

judgment

what a

thing to

say

how can

they not

be amazed

by such

a statement

who has

ever

claimed

anything

like this

in all

history

of course

they're

amazed

here's a

human

being

a man

standing

in front

of them

telling

them that

he has

the power

to give

life

and raise

people from

the dead

just like

God

does

and not

just a

temporary

extension

of life

but permanent

life

that lasts

forever

a gift

that they

can receive

now

by hearing

his words

and believing

them

and a gift

that they

will ultimately

open up

later

when he

calls them

out of their

graves

at the end

of this

world's

story

you have

to know

that with

these words

Jesus is

causing a

stir

I mean

listen to

what he's

saying

to what

he's

claiming

to what

he's

promising

to people

he's

offering

people

what

only

God

can

offer

them

and his

claim is

this

God

has sent

me

to put

this

gracious

gift

on the

table

for you

and offer

it to

you

listen

to me

I have

the solution

to your

death

problem

and so

I ask

all of

you

this

afternoon

this

morning

not

there

yet

do

you

believe

that

Jesus

can

give

you

eternal

life

I

wonder

where

these

words

hit

you

this

morning

I

wonder

if

some

of

us

hear

this

and

think

well

that's

Christianity

101

that's

the

basics

why

are you

telling

me

this

again

I

know

that

already

I've

already

believed

that

tell me

something

that has

to do

with my

life

here

and

now

and

the

things

I

was

doing

this

week

but

it

does

have

to

do

with

your

life

here

and

now

yesterday

I was

out at

the

cemetery

with

a

family

as

they

lowered

the

body

of

a

loved

one

into

the

ground

and

I

was

reminded

again

that

sooner

or

later

each

one

of

us

here

in this

room

will have

our turn

when our

families

will lower

into the

ground

what's left

of our

bodies

the

day

we

die

is

coming

for

each

and

every

one

of

us

perhaps

even

sooner

than

we

might

expect

and

when

the

day

for

our

funeral

comes

everything

we

did

with

our

lives

here

and

now

will

be

put

into

perspective

nothing

will be

as

important

as

the

eternal

spiritual

life

that

we

did

or

did

not

receive

from

Jesus

nothing

will be

as

important

as

whether

or

not

we

listened

to

the

words

that

Jesus

spoke

nothing

will be

as

important

as

whether

or

not

we

believed

them

and

responded

to

them

and

lived

according

to

them

here

and

now

in

every

area

of

our

lives

it's

easy

to get

caught

up

in

this

world

isn't

it

in

the

cares

and

concerns

of

this

world

in

this

world's

priorities

even

in

its

pleasures

but

are

you

ready

for

the

day

when

Jesus

voice

will

command

you

out

of

your

grave

to

stand

before

him

those

who

believed

in

him

and

by

faith

have

done

what

is

good

will

rise

to

live

forever

and

those

who

did

not

believe

and

have

continued

on

doing

what

is

evil

will

rise

to

be

condemned

are

you

ready

for

that

day

this

should

absolutely

change

the

way

that

we

think

and

feel

and

plan

and

decide

and

live

in

this

next

week

I

hope

and

pray

that

it

does

let's

pray

yeah

father

in

heaven

we

thank

you

for

these

precious

words

that

we

get

to

be

there

and

hear

what

Jesus

really

said

to

those

religious

leaders

I

pray

God

that

you

wouldn't

let

us

just

pass

over

these

words

is

something

that

we

heard

a lot

of

before

but

that

you

would

cause

those

words

to

take

root

in

our

heart

please

draw

our

attention

and

our

affection

to

heaven

to

the

things

that

are

most

important

in

this

great

story

do

a

miracle

in

our

hearts

and

in

the

hearts

of

all

who

call

this

church

their

home

many

of

who

are

not

here

today

we

ask

and

pray

this

in

Jesus

name

amen