Don’t Let Temporal Preferences Keep You From Christ

Read

John 11:45–53 (ESV)

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, 46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53 So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.

Opening Prayer

Setting the Stage

We’ve been walking to the raising of Lazarus from the grave.

We’ve seen the gentleness and sympathy of our Savior towards Mary and Martha…

We’ve seen Christ’s sorrow and grief over sin and doubts.

We’ve seen a simple phrase wake Lazarus from death and empower him to walk out of the grave.

Now, we read the results from this resurrection miracle that the Holy Spirit wants us to know…

Many of the Jews

John 11:45 (ESV)

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him,

Now, this is not what the passage gives most of its time to…

However, it is the very first truth stated after the miracle…

And, I do not want us to pass over it without thinking of the significance of what is being stated.

Therefore points us back to the miracle of resurrection.

And, the result of this miracle was many believed in Jesus.

—> And, we get that, right?!

In my mind, and in John’s mind, as well…

How could someone witness Jesus bringing Lazarus back to life after being dead for four days…

And, not believe upon Christ as the Messiah.

John even states this at the end of his gospel…

John 20:30–31 (ESV)

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Right.

How can someone not believe based on the life of Christ…

And, all the miracles and teachings and OT fulfillments done by Christ in His life on earth?

But, I don’t want us to passover this simple, yet beautiful truth that is sandwiched in between the…

therefore and many believed in Jesus

And here it is…

who had come with Mary

That is not an insignificant statement.

Many of the Jews who believed in Jesus had been with Mary.

They were there because of Mary.

And, Martha, I’m sure.

Listen to what they observed of Mary in their presence…

But, more significantly as Mary is in the presence of Christ.

Remember when Mary was told by Martha that Jesus was close by…

John 11:29 ESV

29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him.

Those around saw Mary get up and rush out.

They followed her.

And, they witnessed why she rushed.

It wasn’t to visit the tomb.

It was to be in the presence of Christ.

For Mary, the urgency was to be in the presence of her strength and comfort, Jesus.

They witnessed this great, fervent desire in Mary to be in the presence of her Lord.

We can assume that Lazarus, Martha, and Mary were witnesses for Christ in their every day life.

But, if the onlookers ever doubted, they doubted no longer.

In what is one of the most difficult times in the life of a human being…

—> The loss of a loved one.

Mary, more than anything, wanted to be in the presence of her Lord.

And, the onlookers got to see her behavior and hear her words.

John 11:32 (ESV)

32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

With tears running down her face…

With emotions so strong she could barely stand…

She falls at the feet of Jesus.

This is not the behavior of someone who is angry with someone.

Sure Mary may have wished Christ would have gotten there faster.

She may have wanted God’s will to be different than what was made to be.

But, falling at the feet of Jesus and confessing that He has the power to keep someone from dying is an act of worship…

—> Not bitterness.

As they followed Mary to Jesus, some were thinking…

—> Oh, there He is.

—> Why didn’t He do more?!

But, when you see someone, who is suffering, run into the presence of Christ for comfort and strength…

You know there is something about Christ that is worthy of investigation.

They’re thinking, I must be missing something, overlooking something.

I should pay more attention to Christ.

I should do more study on Him.

Mary’s behavior towards those around her…

And, Mary’s behavior towards Christ influenced the people in such a way that they were present when Christ raised Lazarus from the dead.

They were at the tomb based on the influence of Mary upon their life.

Now, I know that there may be some sitting in here right now that are thinking…

It’s the sovereignty of God that moved those people to the right place at the right time…

—> Mary didn’t have anything to do with it.

Well, Mary didn’t control the outcome of the situation, but she most certainly influenced it.

Christianity is not Fatalism.

We don’t believe in “Let Go and Let God.”

Which is another way of saying…

Whatever is going to happen is going to happen and there’s nothing you can do.

—> So, just watch it unfold and do not participate.

What the Bible teaches is that God has ordained all things.

But, we also believe that God ordained that means be used towards the end.

Romans 10:13–15 (ESV)

13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

We, as the bride of Christ, are the ordained means to take the gospel to a lost and dying world.

Fatalism says “accept the outcome of events without trying to change them”

—> That is not biblical.

Paul says we persuade people.

A Biblical, Reformed Theology says we are part of the outcome.

We may not know exactly what part or how it will ultimately end for the people we evangelize.

But, we do know that God has commanded us…

And we should want to obey because our obedience influences the outcome of other people’s lives.

And, while the influence and the outcome are all under the ordained means of God…

God has not revealed the end in all it’s glorious details to us…

So we just obey…

To be some part of the outworking of the Kingdom of God.

—> To enjoy the participation in the work of the Lord.

I think it is important, as Christians, to ask ourselves periodically…

How am I living?

—> As a Fatalist.

Just accepting the outcome of events without trying to change the outcome?

When you see your co-workers, neighbors, family, friends…

Do you live in such a way that says…

If they’re going to be saved they’ll be saved.

—> Nothing I can do.

Or do you look at them and pray Lord use me as an instrument in your hand to share this treasure with whomever will listen.

We are clay pots carrying the gold of the gospel.

And, we should be distributing the gold as much as possible.

There are two very important components to our life:

Living out the transformation that has and is happening to you because of the regenerative work of the HS.

In order to speak the gospel into the lives of the people God has placed in your life.

Those that see your transformation/hope in us, we pray will ask us the reason.

The results are not ultimately under our control.

But, we can and should do all that we can to influence the final result.

_________________

And, while we seek to influence others towards Christ…

We should know and understand that many will reject Christ…

John 11:46–48 (ESV)

46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

Rejecting Christ in spite of the Signs

Notice that they do not deny His signs…

But, rather, they admit that Jesus is doing many signs.

Nicodemus readily conceded that very fact in John 3.

And, this last one was the sign of resurrection.

Eye witnesses that Lazarus was dead for four days before Christ even arrived.

And, with a single phrase…Lazarus, come out

Lazarus was raised from the dead to walk out of the tomb on his strength.

Let’s also not forget that when Jesus was teaching…

It was repeatedly the demand of the people and the religious leaders…

That Jesus give them a sign…

To show the authority from God to teach and make His claims of His personhood.

Remember back when Jesus cleared the temple…

John 2:18 (ESV)

18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?”

Also, after the feeding of the 5k/20k people, in…

John 6:30 (ESV)

30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?

More places like Matthew 12, Matthew 16, Mark 8, Luke 11.

We want a sign so that we may believe your words.

—> So that we may believe You are who You say You are.

But, here we have all these signs…

—> Even a resurrection at Christ’s command.

And they even admit that Jesus has performed these signs…

But, did they really ever want a sign?

47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs.

In what we read here, the answer is No.

A sign would have never sufficed.

They admit the signs are plenty and sufficient.

What was really behind their rejection of Christ?

Why the Rejection?

48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

Do you see what really and truly mattered to them?

It’s not, we just don’t have enough evidence!

It’s not, that they evidence is sufficient!

It is that the evidence is substantial and sufficient.

But, their perception of what will occur if they allow Jesus to continue is that they will lose:

their place of power

their lifestyle of comfort

their temple

their religion

They preferred the form of religion without the essence of it.

They could care less that God was walking in their midst.

That God was among them.

The very and true essence of their Temple and their religion was living and breathing and performing miracles before their very eyes…

But, the essence was not what they were interested in.

They were interested in the form of it…

Because you see, the form without the essence allows for compromise.

It allows for doctrine to not really matter.

It allows for compromise that brings temporal blessings.

The religious form without the essence of God at the core…

Allowed them to make deals with the Romans that would keep their earthly comforts steady…

Even if it cost them the rescue of the promised Messiah.

Even if it cost them the very reason their religion existed.

And, dear friends we live in a world of religion that is no different…

Than the false, apostate Judaism that we see in the pages of the gospels.

Let’s think about this...

Why are we prone to Fatalism in our every day living?

Could it be, because we too are guilty of preferring the comfort we currently know over risking the power of God to be made manifest?

Even as Christians we see the frailty of our flesh.

Even after regeneration we see the plague of the old man within us, every day.

But, praise be to God for the gospel.

That our status with Him is not based at all on our successes…

But, on the perfection of Christ.

And, the covenant that Christ has brought us into allows for our failures…

Allows for us to mess up and get back up and pursue obedience again without being exiled…

Because our entrance and security in the new covenant is based solely on Christ’s person and finished work on behalf of His people.

Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Closing Prayer