Attested By Works
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Tell Us Plainly!
Tell Us Plainly!
22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
Just tell us if you’re the Christ!
He has said it pretty plainly
Bread of life John 6:35
Light of the World John 8:12
Good Shepherd John 10:11 (Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd!)
I AM John 8:57-58
On top of his words are his works!
Why don’t they hear or understand any of this?
They blame Jesus for their unbelief
You aren’t clear enough!
Modern: Why won’t God just show himself?
Unless God answers this prayer, or gives me this life, or blesses me in specific ways
Unbelief is justified because God hasn’t done enough
Jesus responds John 10:25-26
25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.
If you actually paid attention
If you actually took the works seriously
The problem isn’t God - It’s you!
He says this to people who wanted to believe in the kingdom of God
The Jews believed lots of things
John is critical of belief
It needs to be a life of radical transformation John 10:27
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
You cannot come to God on your own terms demanding that cater to you
Background: The Feast of Dedication - Hanukkah!
You can read the story in 1 Maccabees
Daniel foresees this time period
The Greeks are ruling - Antiochus IV Epiphanes
They are doing everything to unify the various kingdoms like stamping out Jewish culture (1 Macc 1:41-50)
41 And the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be as one people, 42 and each should abandon his customs. And all the peoples complied according to the word of the king. 43 And many from Israel consented to his service, and they sacrificed to idols and defiled the Sabbath.
44 And the king sent documents in the hands of messengers to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, going after the customs of foreigners of the land, 45 and to withhold burnt offerings and sacrifice and drink offering from the sanctuary and to profane Sabbaths and festivals, 46 and to defile the sanctuary and holy things,
47 to build altars and shrines and idols and sacrifice pigs and common animals, 48 and to leave their sons uncircumcised, to make repulsive their souls with all impurity and profanation 49 so as to forget the law and to change all their duties.
50 And whoever should not act according to the word of the king would die.
The Temple is dedicated to Jupiter and desecrated
Judas Maccabeus (The Hammer) drives Antiochus out and rededicates the temple to God
They can’t hear because they’re listening for another story
They want another hammer to fall on Rome
Instead the hammer is falling on them
Connect: What Are We Listening For?
Connect: What Are We Listening For?
We have to ask: what are we listening for?
We’re naturally attuned to certain sounds
Our name
Babies - their mother’s voice
Juicy bits of gossip
Theologically attuned
Most popular sermons I preach tend to be on baptism
Something easy?
John is critical of belief
We might be tuning out things we don’t want to hear
We like our conclusions lot more than our evidence - despite how plain they are
Biggest issue is baptism
Elder Thurgood humming to himself
Jesus Makes Himself God
Jesus Makes Himself God
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
Jesus Drops a Bombshell
Jesus Drops a Bombshell
Jesus starts saying he does things only God can do
I give eternal life
I save from death
These people belong to me
Then he makes himself God
God gave me all of this
No one can snatch from my hand and God’s hand
I and the Father are one is understood as Jesus claiming godhood
The Jews caught onto this John 10:31-33
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
Jesus’ Defense
Jesus’ Defense
34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— 36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
To counter their charge of blasphemy Jesus quotes from Psalm 82
One of the strangest you’ll read
I’ve preached on it and have strange views on it myself
Psalm 82 - Original Context
Psalm 82 - Original Context
1 God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
Whoever God is addressing they are called gods
Interpretive options are all over the map
Israel
Human judges
Angel of Death or Belial
Angelic beings involved in the nations (Dan 10)
They are in the presence of God
They have authority to rule and judge
They are sons of the Most High
Regardless of who these gods are, their crime is easily understood
2 “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah 3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. 4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. 6 I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; 7 nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.”
8 Arise, O God, judge the earth; for you shall inherit all the nations!
The crimes of the gods
They judge unjustly and favor the wicked
They have no concern for the afflicted and destitute
They walk without understanding - in darkness
God’s judgment against them
Despite their exalted position they will die
An appeal to God - inherit all the nations!
Parallel’s Between Psalm 82 and Jesus’ Ministry
Parallel’s Between Psalm 82 and Jesus’ Ministry
Jesus brings up Psalm 82 for more than a defense of his identification with God. He is putting the Jews of his day into the role of these ‘gods’ (whoever they might really be).
Jesus is condemning the religious leaders for the same crimes
They are among the thieves and robbers who destroy the sheep for themselves
They have no concern for the weak and needy
Just as these ‘gods rejected the word of God the Jews reject Jesus as the Word of God
Despite their exalted position they will perish
Jesus, though, is doing the work of God
He is the Good Shepherd gathering everyone into his fold
He is laying down his life for the weak and needy
He has concern for:
A Samaritan Woman
A cripple of 38 years
A man blind from birth
A young boy on the verge of death
And Jesus will keep his sheep
God has inherited the nations Psalm 82:8
He’s put them in Jesus’ hand
The Point:
God called them gods and still killed them for their dereliction of duty. He’ll put you to death for the same reason.
God has inherited the nations from all other powers and authorities and has placed them in the hands of Jesus
Who will do the works of God
37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
Connect: What Do Your Works Testify To?
Connect: What Do Your Works Testify To?
Jesus understands that words without action are meaningless
The works are what seal the deal - words are empty
These prove that we are unified with God
The works that are often emphasized
Baptism
Right worship
Showing up on Sunday
But there’s no other evidence of being Jesus’ sheep
His word is heard and even praised
We praise Jesus as the Son of God
But do we have any other works that testify that we are his sheep?
