The One Who Testifies
Notes
Transcript
22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.
This is an interesting verse of which, I have struggled to understand.
It seems that Jesus is specifically referring to one sin in particular. That is the sin of reject the revelation of God in Christ.
You see, they would have been waiting and looking for a messiah, but many of them refused Jesus as the coming messiah.
And, because of this rejection of the revelation of God, they are guilty of sin.
This is a bit of a conundrum considering the wages of sin is death, and the only atonement of that sin is Christ.
So, not only did they sin by rejecting the revelation of God in Christ, they also have no means of atonement for that sin.
Christ became the final sacrifice for sin, so, to reject Him means there is now no atonement.
This would, of course, cause a problem for the religious leaders, but the rest of the world as well.
Jesus is showing that The Father sent Him, and He has spoken to the world, He has revealed the Father to the world, yet, the do not accept Him
23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well.
So, to reject Jesus, is to reject the Father. Again, this poses a real problem for the jewish leaders, and all of those who would reject Christ.
We wouldn’t necessarily understand the context of what is going on here since we are gentile and not jew, but the truth of what Jesus is saying could be applied to all people.
How many in the world think it is perfectly acceptable to believe in “all” religions?
You see things like “coexist” bumper stickers. Or you hear things like “I take the good things from all religions” and “I have my beliefs.”
I am not against “coexisting” in the natural sense, however, that is unfortunately, not the meaning of many who push that ideology.
Yes, we should coexist, and love on everyone, but, not every religion is the truth…
There is only one true religion
When it comes to other religions, some said:
Either one religion is wrong, they are all wrong, but they can’t be all right. If one is right, only one is right!
So sure, coexist in the sense of loving others, treating others as if they are created by God, but also understanding no other religion is the truth…
When someone says “I take good things from all of the religions” that sounds great, but it’s not about “taking a good thing” from religions, is determining if one is right or wrong…
You see, people that say this often view this as some sort of a moral superiority. They see themselves as more tolerant or more inclusive, and therefore, morally superior.
Now I’m not trying to paint them in a negative sense, their heart admirable…
But, it is logically impossible. And, I would say you don’t need to “take good things from all religions”
Because if you believe in the one, true religion, you have all the good things that you need.
Btw, there will not be any coexist stickers in heaven…because there will only be people who believe in the one, true God!
So, the reason that I got off on the rabbit trail is to say that for the Jews, their mentality was similar. They were willing the believe in God in a sense, but miss that Jesus is the full and complete revelation of God.
In there culture, apparently they could accept God as a deistic being, but miss His revelation in Christ.
We don’t see that in the same sense, but we still see people who believe in this sort of thing.
That being said, if you’re one who says “I’m not really a christian, but I have my beliefs” then you are not much different than who Jesus is talking to here.
If you miss Christ, you miss God!
23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well.
Jesus continues
24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.
And again, Jesus is showing that the things He did are different than what others have done. If people still fail to believe, even with the things that He did, don’t understand who He is.
And thus, don’t understand God.
25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’
And, this fulfills what David had written in several psalms, including
19 Do not let those gloat over me who are my enemies without cause; do not let those who hate me without reason maliciously wink the eye.
And, now we get to jump back into talking about who the HS is and what He does.
26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.
Just as review, the Greek word “advocate” is “paraklete,” which could be advocate, helper, or comforter.
When He comes He will come sent by Me from the Father…
Another good evidence for the trinity in operation - Jesus sending, the Father giving!
And He will testify about Jesus!
This is important to note!
One of the things that the HS does is testify about who Jesus is.
You see, when you are talking with people and they say they are a christian, but unsure about Jesus, then it could be an evidence that they don’t have the HS
Now, I’m not suggesting that we go around and discern who seems to have the HS or not, you can certainly tell in conversations
Especially for non-christians…
They may talk abut how they thought Jesus was a good person and taught good things, but they deny the divinity of who He is!
This was the trap of the religious leaders, they denied who Christ really is.
For us, when we are saved and receive the HS, He will testify about who Jesus is!
The distinguishing mark for all true christians is the HS.
13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Jesus says
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
And what is the fruit?
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
So, the mark of a true christian is one who displays the fruit of the spirit.
I would say look at your life and see where you see these fruit, or lack of…
Ask the HS to reveal the areas you need to allow Him to work in!
Remember, fruit grows. So you could have the HS, but maybe some of the fruit is still growing!
As we wrap up…
Let’s look at some of the other things the HS does…
The Holy Spirt Does:
Helps
Advocates
Comforts
Teaches all things
Remind of the words of Jesus
Testifies about Jesus
So, this morning, what is the testimony of Jesus in your life?
Are you convinced of who Jesus is?
Have you given your life to Him? Making Him Lord of your life?
