John 12:12-50 - Skip Heitzig

welcome to expound our verse-by-verse study of god's word our goal is to expand your knowledge of the truth of God by explaining the Word of God in a way that is interactive enjoyable and congregational father we want to commit the evening into your hands pray that you would take away to distract a thoughts Lord that would be there as this is a divided nation I can only surmise that any large group is a divided group and I don't presume to lecture anybody on political matters but I do pray Lord that we as your ambassadors would be ministers agents of healing of love and of directing people to you toward you and we pray Lord that we would be those who introduce men and women to Jesus Christ for him to be their king and their Lord in Jesus name Amen we are now entering the final week of Jesus life on earth and yet we have half the book to go once again it shows you the kind of focus and importance that John gave to that final week as Jesus approached the cross we begin on a special date with a special event a unique event an event jesus never participated in up till this moment up until this moment Jesus told others whenever he would healed them or perform a miracle he say don't tell anybody about this keep this quiet keep it to yourself don't spread it around he never allowed himself to publicly be accepted or allowed himself to publicly be to his nation as their messiah until now this day was different this event was different now he will call public attention to it on purpose the event is the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem it's called the triumphal entry it's given that title it's not a title you find in the Bible but it is a theological title the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem very very famous it's the Palm Sunday story it is a story that is written about in Matthew Mark Luke and John that makes it unique because so many of the events Jesus did were covered by one but not the others or another maybe two but not the this one is covered by all of them so it is mentioned thence four times in the four Gospels now you know sometimes Jesus will say things twice he'll repeat himself if he want you to really listen to something important he'll say verily verily I say unto you which means like okay stop listen up sometimes God will show something or have a reaction to something three times like in the Book of Isaiah with that vision that Isaiah saw and the angels proclaiming not once not twice but three times holy holy holy is the Lord he's not just holy he's not just holy holy he's holy holy holy he's the max he's superlative he's holy turned up to eleven but here this is the fourth time God tells us something now when he repeats himself twice it's important when he says something three times it's really important when he says that four times do you think we ought to listen so it's a very key event the date is an important date in the Jewish calendar it is the tenth day of the Hebrew month of Nisan spelled like the car almost it would be transliterated into English ni sa ni think the car has two S's but the month has one n s so it's the tenth of the Hebrew month and Nissan or in the Julian calendar our calendar April 6th 32 ad what's important about that date on the 10th of Nisan according to Jewish law lambs were selected for Passover they weren't sacrificed they were selected each home would select a lamb a little cute furry fluffy lamb it would be brought into the home for a few days it would be inspected looked over made sure that it's nice and healthy and has no external or internal flaws of course it would have to be inspected by the priest before the sacrifice on the 14th day of Nisan or the Passover so on the tenth day the lamb was presented to the family brought into the family inspected only to be sacrificed on the 14th it is interesting that on this very day the 10th of Nisan Jesus decides this is the day that he would present himself to the nation as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world their Savior their sacrifice on the 10th day of Nisan the lamb would come the deliverer would come he would be inspected by the nation they will reject him and kill him but as God would have it he'll be sacrificed on the Passover the 14th day of Nisan it is fascinating chronology it is indisputable history and it's it's very very applicational to us so that is the setup it is that date Jesus comes into Jerusalem he has been in Bethany if you remember from last time we just covered part of chapter 12 and we got to the story of the festival the feast that Jesus was at the dinner at the house of Simon the leper Mary Martha and Lazarus were were there Martha was serving all the disciples were there Lazarus who had been dead now alive that incredible feast they had together so that was a feast a dinner but now they we come to the feast the feast of Passover and can i refresh her memory you probably know this but if you don't it is one of three mandatory feasts for Jewish people to appear at in Jerusalem now not everybody around the world could but you have to know that it was always the desire still is to go at least one time to Jerusalem if you're Jewish at the Passover so in the Passover itself if you've ever celebrated one there's a line in it that says next year in Jerusalem that's the hope maybe next year maybe it will be next year that will have the money to go to Jerusalem and celebrate it there in the land so the city is filled with people people within the immediate environs of Jerusalem people from as far away as Galilee as far away as Greece we will see from around the world according to Flavius Josephus the Jewish historian had a Passover around this time whether it was this one in particular or another one in the temple on the altar were sacrificed 256 thousand lambs 256 thousand lambs killed in Jerusalem during one Passover why is that important because that will tell us about how many people were in Jerusalem celebrating it according to Jewish law you would average one lamb for ten people one lamb per family the family could be up to ten people you may want to invite a few single friends to make it 10 but it was typically around 10 people for one lamb at the Passover so given that number 256 thousand lambs at a minimum of 10 you have two and a half million people in Jerusalem crowded around there's no hotels there's no Wyndham or Holiday Inn or things like that people would camp out anywhere they could find a place on the Mount of Olives in homes which were usually open for anyone who was a pilgrim Jewish a brother or sister from someone they they might not even know the person but how cool would it be to have homes opened up for for a celebration like this where people just say come on in we don't know you but we will by the end of the week and enjoy our hospitality enjoy our our city etc that's the kind of hospitality that went on but it was a packed crowded city and it was after the feast that they had at the house of Simon that we just read about so look at verse 12 the next day a great multitude that had come to the feast when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him and cried out Hosanna blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord the king of Israel then Jesus when he found a young donkey sat on it as it is written fear not daughter of Zion behold your king is coming sitting on a donkey's colt his disciples did not understand these things at first but when Jesus was glorified then they remembered that these things were written about him and that they had done these things to him wherever Jesus went he had a crowd of people the crowds grew he was controversial he was popular all at the same time but now he had done something that marked him as being different than anyone ever there is no mistaking that this man has power no one else possesses for now a person who's been dead for days that everyone knew about is walking around he's alive so people want to just get a glimpse of him they take a selfie with him if they could but they just want to see him they want to hang out and they've heard about this incredible miracle and so wherever Jesus went he attracted a crowd and by the way it was the blue-collar worker that loved Jesus the common people the Bible says the common people heard him gladly he was simple he was like them a man of the earth he wasn't part of the religious elite they were sort of tired of the scribes and the Pharisees and being alienated and isolated by them Jesus was a breath of fresh Judean air he came to Jerusalem and the people gathered they wanted to see him and they took palm branches and trees and John gives to us the text that they quote it sounds like a spontaneous spontaneous worship and it was but there's more to it than that they're quoting Psalm 18 or 118 the the messianic psalm Hosanna saved now that's what it means save us now blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord but you ought to know something that would help I think the idea of bringing palm branches out and waving it before a would-be deliverer goes back a couple hundred years in their history when there was a struggle among the Jewish people for in two pendants and the Maccabee in Revolt gave them that independence I told you before even in this series on John that between the old and the new testament 200 250 BC that there was a Syrian king named Antiochus the fourth typically is called Antiochus Epiphanes it's a name he gave himself it means I am God made manifest humility was not a strong point the Jews so hated him they gave him their own nickname Antiochus Epiphanes which is the madman the beast the insane dude Antiochus hated the Jews persecuted the Jews killed the Jews I've told you the stories what happened the Maccabee in revolt overturned the Syrians strong hold on the people drove them out and they celebrated the Feast of independence called Hanukkah the feast of dedication mentioned in the Gospel of John when judas maccabees and his brothers were successful the people of jerusalem brought out palm branches so bringing them out again was their way of saying we hope that this is a deliverance like that one that you are a political Messiah that you are going to overturn our new enemy not the Syrians but now the Romans we want you to deliver us save us now they're not saying save us I asked Jesus to come in my heart and be my Lord and Savior not that kind of save now save us from the political threats of foreign enemies Rome that's what they're crying for now they're going to be disappointed because he is their king he is their Messiah and he will rule and reign and save Israel from its enemies but not on his first coming on a second coming in round 2 Jesus 2.0 will accomplish that when he comes again Jesus 1 point no he has to deal with something more important and that a sin that's why he's going to a cross so this is his time to show up in Jerusalem at the appointed time by the Father to die on the cross for their sins then he's going away spent 2000 years one day he'll come back and he will rule and reign for a thousand years in Jerusalem over the earth and then in a new heaven and a new earth but they want that deliverance now save us now the sad thing the ironic thing is many people that are in this crowd welcoming Jesus shouting at Jesus sing Hosanna you know we might say there they are in church praise the Lord praise the Lord oh yes we're so excited in a few days will no doubt be part of the same proud shout and crucify him the people the crowds will cry that crucify him crucify him which goes to show you it's always easier to shout with the crowd than to stand at the cross it's always easier to to say yea man let me just get really excited and shout about Jesus but when it comes to sacrifice and death and dying to yourself and following Jesus the way he really demands that you follow him it's like not so much part of this crowd will no doubt be part of that crowd but right now tension is high excitement as high as Jesus comes in verse 14 tells us that he's on a donkey why is that is it because he was tired I'm tired of walking man I've been walking all day and I just need a rest get off my feet is it that he like donkey rides is what's the deal well John tells us it's to fulfill a promise from the prophet zechariah zechariah chapter 9 verse 9 it's paraphrased here a little bit but back in zechariah it's rejoice greatly o daughter of zion shall daughter of Jerusalem for your king is coming to you and that verse is alluded to and it is quoted here Zechariah chapter 9 verse find the prediction that the Messiah will come to them riding on a donkey is that significant a donkey well yeah it is significant not just because it's a part of prophecy but it's part of history it's a part of the traditional way Kings would approach a city if a king came to a city bringing terms of peace he would ride an animal a peace a donkey if he was coming as a ruler to subjugate them or to rule and reign over them he would ride on a horse so when Jesus comes the first time he is offering them peace terms of peace he is the one and only time he is allowing himself to be publicly seen and preached as their promised Messiah is here and now when he comes the second time he will come on a horse Revelation chapter 19 don't have to turn there now you can keep a marker there you can write a little note in your Bible look at it later but Jesus comes in the clouds of heaven the second time to the earth to put an end to the Great Tribulation Period riding a horse and it says and he judges and makes war he's on a war horse so I don't know I'm not I'm not that excited that he's coming to make war but I'm glad he's coming to take over but anyway at this point he's coming to make peace terms of peace now verse 16 I'm glad it says this boy am I glad there's certain verses that you know are popular this probably isn't this is one of my favorite verses his disciples did not understand these things at first but when Jesus was glorified then they remembered that these things were written about him and that they had done these things to him why is that one of your favorite verses skip I love the fact it says they didn't get it because I don't always get it I'm glad it says of the disciples these things happen it was written in the scripture and the disciples going huh I don't get it and they won't get it until Jesus is glorified after the crucifixion after the resurrection after all of that when he's glorified he's taken back up and they have it then they'll remember it I can't tell you how many times I've read through parts of the Bible only to read it again after years of studying it even perhaps and I look and I go I never saw that there I didn't quite get it now it makes sense ever had one of those moments it's wonderful when you have those moments the disciples had those moments and what I love is that it's when Jesus was glorified that they got it I believe the more Jesus becomes glorified in your life the more you'll get his word his truth it'll make sense to you you know you got you've got the right heart you're growing in your faith you're growing in your relationship with God he's more and more glorified it's like enlightenment is coming and getting it there for the people who were with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead bore witness they checked it out they saw it they agreed with it for this reason the people also met him because they heard that he had done this sign the Pharisees therefore said among themselves you see that you're accomplishing nothing look the world has gone after him can you hear the frustration in their voices they're losing the grip of control on the people they're becoming less popular Jesus is becoming more popular they hate that their influence is waning Jesus is growing and they make a statement oh I wish it were true he said oh look the whole world has gone after him boy do I wish that were true I wish the world would go after Jesus he's the only hope for the world sadly the world hasn't gone after they've gone away from him but that's where you and I come in we can buy our lives by our message but by our lives create a hunger and a thirst you're the salt of the earth you know part of salts job is to create a thirst you can create a thirst so that when you're around people go man whatever you got I want give me some of that you've got peace in this political hurricane you've got joy you're not stressed because you believe like God's in control how did you get there and hopefully though the world is gone mad they may go after him as they see you pursuing him okay so this is the 10th of Nisan right this is the triumphal entry it's called the triumphal entry I mentioned you'll never find that term in the scripture I'm gonna give it a different term the tearful entry because when Jesus according to the other Gospels trusted the Mount of Olives and looked at the city he stopped and Luke's Gospel chapter 19 says he stopped and he wept over the city so he's not like a wee donkey ride he stops he's their Messiah it's the 10th of Nisan the lamb is being presented but he weeps over it and he makes one of the most incredible statements that begs a person to find out what he means in Luke 19 it is recorded let me just tell you what it says he weeps over jerusalem and by the way remember what we read last time in the previous chapter Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus the shortest verse in the New Testament Jesus wept the second time Jesus weeps is very different first time at the tomb of Lazarus he wept silently his ears was as I just welled up with tears when he saw Jerusalem he wept audibly the term is strong it's um it's a loud audible groaning kind of wailing it would be unmistakable I'm sure when the disciples saw they would whoa check out Jesus like what's going on it's almost like a nervous breakdown what's going on I mean it was that dramatic and Jesus said this if you had known even you especially in this your day the things that make for your peace but they have been hidden from your eyes for days are coming when your enemies will build an embankment around you and surround you and close you in on every side and level you and your children within you and not leave one stone upon another because you did not know the time of your visitation striking words I wish you would have known especially today but you don't know what this day is and your enemies are going to destroy you because you didn't know the day of your visitation what was he speaking about he was holding the nation accountable that they should have known what day this was that they should be aware of what was happening and it wasn't just the 10th of Nisan the lamb being presented it was a date predicted in their scripture by the prophet Daniel and that is what I believe Jesus was referring to you should have known this date this is the day of your visitation or as the NIV puts it the day of God coming to you you say what did Daniel have to say about this well Daniel was given in chapter 9 a detailed prediction Daniel 70 weeks the angel came and said to Daniel seventy periods of seven are determined for your people the holy city of Jerusalem to finish the transgression make an end of sin and of sin anoint the most holy bring an everlasting righteousness know therefore and understand that from the beginning of the commandment to restore and build jerusalem until listen to this Messiah the prince will be 483 years it's a wild statement now I'm I'm changing the wording to a modern translation from the New King James which says sixty-two sevens and seven seven so 483 years the modern translation so listen to what I just said again the angel comes out of having says Daniel dude I want you to know something if you want to know when the Messiah is going to come know this from the the commandment given to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Messiah the prince will be 483 years what that means is you should be able to find whatever date it was given to restore and build Jerusalem and count 483 years and you'd show up to the day of Jesus or some happening in that life of Jesus right it's exactly right this so interested the lead detective years ago at Scotland Yard Sir Robert Anderson that he wrote a book on it called the coming Prince all of his calculations are in it I won't bore you with them all but I'll cut to the chase he took the 483 years given by the prophecy in Daniel 9 discovered that the date in question given to restore and build Jerusalem was given March 14th 445 BC by the ruler art exact sees Longy Manas okay good we have the date art exerts ease on March 14th 445 BC said Jews go back home build the temple under the leadership of King Cyrus that's a date attested to in history what that means is that from March 14th 445 BC you should be able to go 483 years into the future and something amazing should be there so Sir Robert Anderson calculated not just the years but the days of the years and 483 years is 173,880 days be following me so he counted from March 14th 445 BC 173,880 days and he found what date that was in history and it happened to be April 6th 32 ad the 10th of Nisan the very day Jesus said go get me a donkey I need to fulfill Zechariah 9 I need to come on the exact date as given to the prophet Daniel something that is in the Jewish Scriptures something that they should be accountable of knowing because it was given to them it's in their text it's read in their synagogues and he came on that date now some of you may be interested in this stuff like when I first read this and heard it it's so like amped me up that I read everything I could on it in fact I've used this to share with unbelievers for years in secular settings just just to watch them change their thinking about the Bible now you may get excited about this and go home and you'll come back next week with your little and pencil and go you're wrong I did the math and it's a hundred and seventy-six thousand two hundred and ninety five days and I'll say ah you're wrong you miscalculated and your mistake probably is that you took our calendar the Julian calendar based on the lunar model rather than the I mean the solar model rather than the lunar model the ancient calendar is a three hundred and sixty day per year model based on a lunar calendar the Julian calendar is 365 and a third days it's a different model if you calculate with that model add the necessary leap years to compensate you two will come up with 173,880 days starting at March 14th 445 BC ending on the exact date Jesus came to Jerusalem wept over it and said you should have known this day now let me ask you a question is your God precise or what is your God on time or what is your God exact or what yeah that's praiseworthy that's awesome so if he's that exact what are you worried about what on earth do you have to fret about when God is like into it that much so don't you ever dare say god you're later how could you let this happen he knows what he's doing and he's right on time and he can pull any string he wants to get whatever he wants so you can chillax when it comes to trusting God I love this now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast then they came to Philip who was from Bethsaida of Galilee and asked him saying sir we wish to see Jesus Philip came and told Andrew and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus okay John the author John is the only gospel author who mentions this little event of some Greeks we don't even know what they were who they were why they were there just as certain Greeks John is the only one who brings it up but there's a couple of things I want you to notice about this because it's noteworthy wouldn't be in your Bibles we're done first of all these certain Greeks who came to the feast they said sir we want to see Jesus it's a great request the old King James said sir we would see Jesus in pulpits that I have been in especially like old world old school you like European pulpits they will often have a plaque when you get into the pulpit and the plaque is this verse sir we would see Jesus it's a reminder to the preacher don't preach your opinion don't preach politics don't preach you preach Christ sir the people want to see Jesus that's the idea so I love that sir we want to see Jesus now who are these Greeks what we don't know eh they could be second or Greeks they could be there because they were interested they're travelling through and they're interested in the wisdom that they have heard Jesus is filled with they heard there's a man from Galilee who has wise thoughts he does amazing things but he says amazing things you ought to hear him and if you know anything about the Greeks they they love wisdom right they love philosophy they are philosophers felis so fast they love wisdom you may also recall in the book of Acts chapter 17 when Paul goes to Athens he goes to a place called Areopagus the hill of Ares Mars Hill where the philosophers gathered and it says those who were there came only to listen and to hear some new thing they would just tell each other stories mmm interesting Wow they just loved new ideas sounds like a college campus they're there just to hear and discuss something new so it could be that they were just there to learn or it could be that they were religious Jews now that's what I think they were I don't think they were just loving wisdom I think that they were there probably because they were seekers of God and you ought to know that there was a group that the Jews referred to as god-fearers and god-fearers were also known as proselytes of the gate that is they believed in the Jewish God they prayed to the Jewish God they worshiped the Jewish God everything short of circumcision for obvious reasons short of circumcision and keeping the Mosaic dietary laws so they were allowed to have some sort of relationship with Judaism as god-fearers and they knew that Jesus was not from Jerusalem he's from Galilee and Galilee was called the Galilee of the Gentiles and it's interesting that they came up to Philip why Philip well Philip has that's a Greek name the name Philip was the name of Alexander the Great's father Philip of Macedon and he was from Bethsaida which was a very Gentile area in the Decapolis a Gentile region for Roman for Greece so probably because of the area because of his name they approached him and they're interested in this Jesus and the reason John includes this is because John wants you to know that God didn't just love the Jewish people God loved the world he came to be the savior of the world and right here when the door is closing to Judaism there Jews are rejecting Jesus a door is opening in the Gentile world which will be carried out by Peter but then especially by Paul as the gospel will go out so that's probably why John included it in his letter sir we want to see Jesus but here's what I love Greeks were known for wisdom they show up at the end of Jesus life before the cross there was another group of wise men who showed up at Jesus birth when Jesus was born wise men from the east showed up seeking Jesus where is he who has been born King of the Jews wise men from the east at Jesus death wise men from the West came it's as if his life and ministry were bookended by people seeking him non-jewish people seeking him for some reason and that is one of the messages that John is trying to get across that he is the savior for all in the it's it's it's he's the savior of the world now they didn't expect this answer but jesus answered them saying the hour has come that the Son of man should be glorified most assuredly I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies it remains alone but if it dies it will produce much grain he who loves his own life will lose it he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life if anyone serves me let him follow me and where I am there my servant will be also if anyone serves me him my father will honor why does Jesus give an answer about kernels of wheat being put in the ground why doesn't he quote the Old Testament why didn't he say let me show you who I am from the prophecies because he's dealing with Greeks it's an answer that some go from the disciples back to the Greeks so he talks about a unless a kernel of wheat falls in the ground and dies it abides alone so they're seeking Jesus but Jesus is on his way to the cross to fulfill the hour the exact time of him coming into Jerusalem so that he might die in a cross so if you're seeking Him that's where he is going and you might be seeking Jesus but by doing this Jesus is seeking the whole world you see if you take a kernel of wheat in your hand and you look at it it looks pretty insignificant it looks small and it looks powerless looks dead it's lifeless but then you take that little kernel of wheat and you bury it in the ground you into MIT and you give it a little bit of time and a little bit of nourishment and it will break forth from its encasement and sprout out into new life it's a picture of death burial and resurrection and if you do that with a number of kernels of wheat you'll have a whole field of it and then if you take what they produce and so more of a deal have more fields of it and I guess theoretically if you kept doing it you could fill the whole world the principle is that life comes from death from resurrected light resurrected life comes from death and this group is seeking Jesus but Jesus by his death burial and resurrection can spread the seed of truth around the world that's why he has come he who loves his life will lose it he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life if anyone serves me let him follow me and where I am there my servant will be also if anyone serves me let him or him my father will honor and now my soul is troubled and what shall I say father save me from this hour but for this purpose I came to this hour one of the peculiar features of John is he does not include Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane wrestling before the crucifixion he eliminates that scene but he does give us the emotional composition of Jesus what he's going through inside he's troubled my soul he says his trouble agitated stirred up I'm Restless inside until I say father save me from this hour in the Garden of Gethsemane he said if it's possible let this cup pass from me nevertheless not my will but yours be done and then he resigned himself to the will of the Father here Jesus said no for this purpose I have come to this hour what was troubling Jesus what was troubling him at this time why would his soul be troubled that's an easy answer he knows what he's gonna face physically he knows what's gonna be put through his hands and his feet and his decide he knows what's gonna go on his head he knows the lashes that are gonna eviscerate his back he knows that he knows that is coming the physical torture and pain of the cross he knows it he's predicted it he also is feeling the weight spiritually as the sins of the world are being laid upon him second Corinthians 5:21 God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the rights of God in him he is feeling the weight more and more of sin the sin of humanity my sin yours being placed upon Jesus and more than that he knows there will come a time when not just physically not just spiritually but even emotionally he'll cry out for fellowship with his father finding that it is lost for a period of time my God my God why have you forsaken me the worst of all is to have that feeling of alienation from the father as he performs the sacrifice so it's an easy answer my soul is troubled but I have come to this hour father glorify your name then a voice came from heaven saying I have both glorified it and I will glorify it again therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it thundered mother said an angel has spoken to him jesus answered and said this voice did not come because of me but for your sake now is the judgment of this world now the ruler of this world will be cast out and I if I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all peoples to myself a voice came out of heaven was there any other time when that happened actually twice three times all together God the Father spoke in the presence of Jesus so that other people knew that some event happened either an angelic voice or thunder or God or what one was his baptism this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased second was the Transfiguration was transfigured with Moses and Elijah this is my beloved son listen to him and right before the cross I will glow I have glorified it and I will glorify it against three times interestingly once at the beginning once at theme in the middle and once at the end of his ministry all three of them had to do with his death all three had to do with his death baptism is a symbol of death being brought into the water brought out of the water Paul says the Transfiguration Jesus was speaking with Moses and Elijah the Bible says about his decease his departure and now right before the cross a voice comes out of heaven people wondering what it is is that an angel was the Thunder and the voice wasn't for Jesus it was for them to give validity to bolster the idea that the father is part of this is the Father's plan look at verse 31 and 32 Jesus here gives us three effects of his death on the cross he talked about being put into the ground and dying like a kernel of wheat and rising again but look look at the three effects of the cross verse 31 now is the judgment of this world the world is judged by the cross when the world put Jesus on a cross it was signing its own death sentence you say what do you mean in rejecting God's Son God's solution for them it was their statement of rejection what they didn't realize it though they were making a judgment against Jesus they were being judged by Jesus he would stand before Pontius Pilate and Pontius Pilate would say what shall I do with Jesus who is called the Christ be careful Pilate how you answer your own question because you will stand before God and be held eternally accountable for how you answer what you will do with Jesus the world is judged by the cross now the world Jesus said in that verse now is the judgment of this world that's the first effect the second effect is found also in that verse now the ruler of this world will be cast out the world ruler Satan will be cast out by the cross Satan was cast out of heaven we know that he was cast to the earth he's been rampant on the earth ever since but the cross provided the antidote to the sting of Satan and death so that sin doesn't have to have a grip anymore you can be freed from that you don't have to live under the tyranny of that anymore and so yes he walks around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour but though he roars and though he might attack you and though he might bite you he's toothless he's just he'll gum you to death but the real sting and the real power has been removed by the cross now ultimately Satan is going to be cast even out of the earth like he was cast out of heaven at the end of the tribulation period during the Millennial Kingdom Revelation tells us he is incarcerated for a thousand years in the bottomless pit after which he's tossed into the lake of fire forever and ever so this is like the first installment and then the third effect of the cross is found in verse 32 that the world's people can be saved by it if I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people to my self when the Bible talks about lifting up Jesus they don't mean lifts lift him up in worship they mean let's literally lift him up off the ground on a cross so he can die that's what it refers to and just in case you are mistaken about that verse 33 says this he said signifying by what death he would die so jesus said the same thing in John chapter 3 if I be no no that's this um as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so the Son of Man must be lifted up he's quoting numbers 21 when Moses lifted up that snake in the wilderness and people had to admit they were sinners and looked by faith that that object in the distance and they would be healed in the same manner we look to the cross by faith recognizing were sinners and by that look of faith we are healed we are saved by it if I be lifted up I I will draw all peoples to myself this he said signifying by what death he would die the people answered him saying we have heard from the law that Christ remains for forever how can you say the Son of Man must be lifted up they knew he was mentioning his death who is the son of man jesus said to them a little while longer the light is with you walk while you have the light lest darkness overtake you he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going while you have the light believe in the light that you may become sons of the light these things Jesus spoke and departed and was hidden from them now the last section of this chapter is the last paragraph of Jesus public ministry it's over chapter 13 it's private ministry with the disciples it's all not in public arenas or in the public square it's all done now this is a transitional section it is summarizing now the first 12 chapters or the yeah first 12 chapters of John summing them up but although he had done so many signs before them they did not believe in him that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled which he spoke Lord who has believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord been revealed therefore they could not believe because Isaiah said again he has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts lest they should see with their eyes lest they should understand with their hearts and turn so that I should heal them these things Isaiah said when he saw his glory and spoke of him that's 6 chapter of Isaiah nevertheless now notice what John does John says even though there was incontrovertible evidence people didn't believe in him this is the theme of John there's a whole group that didn't believe in him and that's because it says in verse 39 they could not believe in him does that puzzle you they did not believe in them therefore they could not believe in him compare verse 37 and 39 that should puzzle you why couldn't they believe in him because they did not believe in him hold that thought nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in him but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him lest they should be put out of the synagogue so yeah people didn't believe in him but there were people even rulers of the people even Jewish clerics who did believe in him they didn't come public they didn't want to say yep I'm voting for Jesus they wanted to kind of hold that back and not tell anybody because they they didn't want to get put out of the synagogue like the guy in chapter nine did for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God then Jesus cried out and said he who believes in Me believes not in me but in him who sent me and he who sees me sees him who sent me I have come as a light into the world that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness if anyone hears my words and does not believe I do not judge him for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world please keep in mind there are two comings he's speaking only of the first coming here when he comes the second time he will judge but he did not come the first time to judge he who rejects me and does not receive my words as that which judges him the word which I have spoken will judge him in the last day for I have not spoken of my own authority but the father who sent me gave a command what I should say and what I should speak and I know that his command is everlasting life therefore whatever I speak just as the father has told me so I speak now I wanted to finish out the chapter and leave you hanging because I'm good at that and I do that every week pretty much but I wanted you to and I'll go back and tie a few thoughts before we get into this private ministry of Jesus with his disciples what I wanted to leave you with is this John wants you to know that there's people who believe and there's people who still today there's people who believe in people who don't so don't be surprised when there's unbelievers and we believers are the minority in a world of unbelievers some believe some don't but what I want you to think about is they didn't believe therefore they couldn't believe how do you go from I won't to I can't how do you go there and what is the solution what is the antidote to that there is an answer for it but I won't give it to you this week because we wouldn't have enough time it'll it'll it'll it'll it'll take a little time and I want to get into it as we get into now the private ministry of jesus fair enough father thank you for your word thank you for the truths and the commandments and for the love of our Savior knowing that he as a kernel of wheat would be dead and planted in the ground in a tomb in an encasement only to bring such great fruit when he rose again from the dead so that that message like wheat plants would be all over the world the true gospel is to the Jew first and also to the Greeks thank you Lord that it's a message that resonates with all of us and I love that last statement that we read father I know that his command is everlasting life it's Jesus command it's not the ten commandments it's his own command to repent and believe as the apostle paul said to those in Athens in times past God has overlooked their ignorance but now commands all men everywhere to repent and to believe the gospel thank you Father for the fruit in our own lives because of the gospel thank you for the message that has changed our lives and I pray Lord that we would be those who spread it around so that more and more of the world would go after Jesus as Jesus goes after them may we be among those who pursue the God who passionately pursues a lost world and we do that together if we start with our neighbors our families our communities our neighborhoods inviting people into a conversation to coffee to church in hopes that they will believe be part of the some that believe in Jesus name Amen if you've missed any of our expound studies all of our services and resources are available at expoundabq.org

Channel: Calvary Church with Skip Heitzig

Views: 27,003

Rating: 4.6793895 out of 5

Keywords: Calvary, Albuquerque, Skip, Heitzig, Sermon, John

Id: VhnJbK-M-m0

Length: 57min 6sec (3426 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 10 2016