The Voice of Mercy
Notes
Transcript
The Voice of Mercy
The Voice of Mercy
The Tragedy of Unbelief and the Mercy of Christ
The Tragedy of Unbelief and the Mercy of Christ
One of the hardest things about expository preaching, which simply means preaching verse by verse through books of the Bible, is that eventually you come face to face with difficult passages. You don't get to skip the uncomfortable texts. You don't get to avoid the hard truths. You simply open God's Word and let Him speak.
That's exactly what we saw last week as Pastor Tony walked us through in John 12:37-43.
John says,
37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him,
That's one of the saddest verses in the entire Gospel of John.
The issue wasn't evidence. The issue wasn't intelligence. The issue wasn't that Jesus wasn't clear. The issue was unbelief.
John tells us Isaiah saw this coming centuries before it happened. The Messiah would be rejected. People would hear but not understand. They would see but not perceive. Their hearts would become hard.
That's a sobering warning because many people think, "If I saw a miracle, I'd believe."
Not necessarily.
Israel saw miracles every day. Lazarus walked out of a tomb, and yet many of them still rejected Christ.
A hard heart can sit in church for years hearing the gospel and remain unchanged.
That's why I've often said the greatest miracle isn't seeing a dead man raised. The greatest miracle is when God takes a spiritually dead heart and makes it alive.
I know that personally. There was a time in my life when I wasn't lacking evidence or opportunities to hear about Jesus. The problem wasn't information.
The problem was my heart.
I was homeless. I was addicted. I was sitting in a jail cell.
The greatest miracle God ever performed in my life wasn't getting me out of jail or off drugs.
The greatest miracle was taking a dead sinner and making him alive in Christ.
And here's what I love about our Savior.
After John spends six verses describing unbelief, hardness, and judgment, Jesus immediately follows it with one final plea to believe.
The crowds are rejecting Him.
The leaders are rejecting Him.
The nation is rejecting Him.
The cross is only days away.
Yet Jesus is still calling sinners to come.
Let’s read today’s passages, pray then dive deeper into today’s sermon.
44 And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.
47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”
Main Idea: The points I want us to see today are these...
Main Idea: The points I want us to see today are these...
Even after widespread rejection, Jesus ends His public ministry with a loving plea for sinners to believe.
In these final public words, Jesus reveals the Father's heart, offers Himself as the Light of the world, warns of coming judgment, and points us to the eternal life found only in Him.
POINT 1
POINT 1
Jesus Reveals the Heart of the Father
Jesus Reveals the Heart of the Father
44 And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.
Jesus begins His final public message by directing people's attention to the Father. He wants the crowd to understand that He is not operating independently. He has not come with His own message or agenda. He has come as the perfect revelation of the Father.
This has been one of John's major themes from the very beginning it’s also all through scripture.
John 5 19 says...
19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
Hebrews 1:3 tells us...
3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
John 14 10 says...
10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
Church, I think one of the greatest truths we can ever grasp is found right here in these verses.
Look at those verses again.
44 And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.
Think about the weight of what Jesus is saying. He is not merely claiming to be a messenger from God. He is not simply another prophet pointing people toward God. He is saying that if you truly want to know what God is like, look at Him. If you want to know the heart of the Father, look at the Son. If you want to know how God feels about sinners, watch Jesus. If you want to know how God responds to the broken, watch Jesus. If you want to know how God treats those who come to Him in repentance, watch Jesus.
Sometimes people have this idea that the God of the Old Testament is angry and harsh while Jesus is loving and compassionate. But that is not the picture the Bible gives us. Jesus is not the loving member of the Trinity trying to convince an unwilling Father to show mercy. Jesus is the perfect revelation of the Father. What we see in Christ is what has always been true about God.
Look at Jesus throughout the Gospels. He touches lepers that nobody else would touch. He welcomes children that everyone else overlooks. He eats with tax collectors and sinners that religion had written off. He restores the woman caught in adultery. He seeks out the outcasts. He forgives the undeserving. He pursues the wandering. He weeps at the tomb of Lazarus. He has compassion on the crowds because they are like sheep without a shepherd. Again and again we see the heart of God on display in the life of Christ.
And I want you to notice something remarkable about the context of this passage. The very people standing before Jesus are rejecting Him. They have seen the miracles. They have heard the sermons. They have watched Lazarus walk out of the tomb. Yet many still refuse to believe.
And what does Jesus do? Does He walk away in disgust? Does He call down judgment? Does He say, "I've had enough of you people"? No. John tells us, "Jesus cried out." He is still pleading. He is still inviting. He is still calling. Even in the face of rejection, Jesus is extending mercy.
That should tell us something about the heart of God.
Because if we're honest, that's not how we naturally respond. When someone rejects us, we tend to pull away. When someone wounds us, we often close the door. When someone repeatedly ignores us, eventually we stop pursuing them. Yet here stands Jesus, fully aware that the cross is only days away, fully aware that many in this crowd will continue rejecting Him, and He is still calling them to believe.
Why?
Because this is the heart of God.
This is why Romans 5:8 says,
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Church, that's important because sometimes we can begin to think that God's love is something we earned. We think God loves us because we're doing well spiritually. We think God loves us because we're serving in church. We think God loves us because we've been faithful. But the cross destroys that kind of thinking. The cross reminds us that God's love for His people originates in His character, not our performance.
Long before we pursued Him, He pursued us.
Long before we loved Him, He loved us.
Long before we ever cried out for mercy, He had already provided a Savior.
As a contractor, I can't help but think about the process of building. Before a single shovel ever hits the ground, before concrete is poured, before walls are framed, there is a plan. There is a blueprint. There is a vision. The architect has already designed the project before construction ever begins. Every wall, every doorway, every window, every measurement originates in the mind of the architect.
The building doesn't come first.
The plan comes first.
In a far greater way, redemption began in the heart of God before the foundation of the world.
In Ephesians we see that...
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
Second Timothy 1:9 says...
9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,
Think about that.
Before Adam sinned.
Before death entered the world.
Before Satan deceived Eve.
Before you took your first breath.
Before I found myself sitting in a jail cell.
Before any of us had ever rebelled against God.
The Father had already designed a plan of redemption.
The cross was never Plan B.
God was never reacting to human failure.
He wasn't scrambling to come up with a rescue mission after sin entered the world.
The Father planned redemption from eternity past, and the Son came into history to accomplish what the Father had planned.
That's why Jesus repeatedly says throughout John's Gospel that He was sent by the Father. John 6:38 says,
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
Everything Jesus does is part of the Father's redemptive plan. Every miracle. Every sermon. Every step toward Jerusalem. Every nail driven into His hands. Every drop of blood shed at Calvary. The Son is accomplishing what the Father purposed before time began.
And here's why that matters for us today.
Many people say, "I believe in God, I just don't believe in Jesus."
But Jesus leaves no room for that category.
Not because He's arrogant.
Not because He's exclusive for the sake of being exclusive.
But because He is the revelation of God.
To reject the Son is to reject the Father who sent Him.
To receive the Son is to receive the Father who sent Him.
You cannot separate God from Christ because God has chosen to make Himself known through Christ.
This is why salvation is not ultimately about religion. It's not about morality. It's not about becoming a better person. It's not about attending church more often. The question is ultimately this:
What have you done with Jesus?
Because Jesus says that to see Him is to see the Father.
And if that's true, then every person must respond to Him.
Not merely admire Him.
Not merely respect Him.
Not merely learn about Him.
But believe in Him.
And that's exactly what Jesus is pleading for in these final public words. Even after all the rejection. Even after all the unbelief. Even after all the hardness of heart. Jesus is still calling sinners to come.
Church, that's the heart of our God.
POINT 2
POINT 2
Point 2: Jesus Came to Rescue People From Darkness
Point 2: Jesus Came to Rescue People From Darkness
Jesus continues His final public appeal by saying,
46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.
I think one of the most important words in that verse is the word remain. Jesus doesn't simply say that darkness exists in the world. He doesn't say that darkness is something we occasionally stumble into. He says that apart from Him, darkness is our natural condition. The assumption behind His words is that humanity is already living in darkness and that the reason He came was to rescue us from it.
That also has been one of John's major themes throughout this Gospel. Back in John 1, we were told that...
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
In John 3, Jesus explained that...
19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
Paul says in Ephesians 2 that we were dead in our trespasses and sins, and in Colossians 1:13 he describes unbelievers as living under the "domain of darkness." The testimony of Scripture is consistent from beginning to end. Our greatest problem is not a lack of information. Our greatest problem is not a lack of education. Our greatest problem is not our environment or our circumstances. Our greatest problem is that sin has plunged humanity into spiritual darkness.
That means Jesus did not come merely to make bad people behave better. He did not come simply to improve our lives, strengthen our marriages, fix our habits, or help us become more successful versions of ourselves.
Now certainly following Christ impacts every area of life and those things do happen, but that is not primarily why He came. Jesus came because people who are dead need life. People who are blind need sight. People who are lost need rescue. The Son of God stepped into this world because sinners trapped in darkness could never find their own way out.
Think about how darkness works. When you're standing in complete darkness, you lose your bearings. You can't see where you're going. You can't distinguish danger from safety. You stumble over things that should be obvious. What's frightening about darkness is that often you don't realize how lost you are until light finally shines into the situation. Suddenly what seemed safe becomes dangerous. Suddenly what seemed clear becomes confusing. Suddenly you realize you weren't seeing nearly as well as you thought.
Spiritually, that's exactly what sin does. Sin blinds us to the holiness of God. Sin blinds us to the seriousness of our condition. Sin blinds us to the beauty of Christ. Sin convinces us that we're free when we're actually enslaved. Sin convinces us that we're alive when we're actually dead. Sin convinces us that we're seeing clearly when, in reality, we're wandering through darkness.
I know that personally because there was a time in my life when I genuinely believed I was free. I thought freedom was found in drugs. I thought freedom was found in doing whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I thought happiness was just around the next corner, in the next high, in the next relationship, or in the next attempt to escape reality. Looking back now, it's amazing how blind I was. What I called freedom was actually slavery. What I called life was actually death. What I called independence was actually bondage.
Every step I took led me deeper into darkness. Eventually that darkness led me to homelessness. It led me into addiction. It led me into a jail cell. But as I look back now, I realize the jail cell wasn't the deepest darkness I faced. My addiction wasn't my greatest problem. My greatest problem was my sin. My greatest problem was that my heart was separated from God. The chains wrapped around my soul were far stronger than any chains that could ever be wrapped around my wrists.
And that's why the gospel is such good news.
The good news isn't that Jesus stood at a distance and shouted directions into the darkness. The good news is that the Light came into the darkness. The Son of God took on flesh and entered the very world that was rebelling against Him. He stepped into our brokenness. He stepped into our suffering. He stepped into our darkness. Jesus didn't wait for sinners to find their way to Him. He came looking for us.
That's the story of the entire Bible. In Genesis, God comes walking through the garden seeking Adam and Eve after they sinned. In Luke 15, Jesus tells us about a shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine sheep to pursue the one that is lost. He tells us about a father waiting and watching for a prodigal son to come home. Over and over again we see the same truth: God pursues sinners. Long before we sought Him, He sought us. Long before we loved Him, He loved us. Long before we cried out for mercy, He had already provided a Savior.
That's exactly what Paul celebrates in Colossians 1:13 when he says,
13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
Notice who does the rescuing. He does.
The spiritually dead don't resurrect themselves.
The blind don't give themselves sight.
The lost don't save themselves.
God does.
He has delivered us!
That's grace.
That's mercy.
That's salvation.
Now some people hear a testimony like mine and immediately think, "Well, I've never struggled with drugs. I've never been homeless. I've never sat in a jail cell." And praise God if that's your story. But don't miss the larger point Jesus is making. Darkness wears many different faces.
For some people darkness looks like addiction. For others it looks like pride that refuses to bow before God. For some it looks like bitterness that has quietly taken root for years. For others it looks like greed, selfishness, anger, or unforgiveness. Sometimes darkness looks like open rebellion against God. Sometimes darkness wears a suit and tie and sits faithfully in church every Sunday.
In fact, one of the most dangerous forms of darkness is religious darkness because it convinces people they don't need saving. The Pharisees weren't homeless. They weren't drug addicts. They weren't criminals. Yet many of them stood face-to-face with the Light of the world and remained in darkness because they refused to see their need for Him. They knew the Scriptures, attended worship, and practiced religion, but they missed Christ.
Church, whether your darkness looked like a jail cell or a church pew, the cure is exactly the same.
Jesus.
Without Christ we are lost.
Without Christ we are blind.
Without Christ we are spiritually dead.
But the good news of the gospel is that Jesus did not come into the world to leave people in darkness. He came as the Light of the world so that all who believe in Him would never remain there. He came to bring life to the dead, sight to the blind, hope to the hopeless, and salvation to sinners. And that invitation remains open today. The Light still shines, and everyone who comes to Christ by faith will never walk in darkness again.
Point 3: Jesus Warns Because He Loves
Point 3: Jesus Warns Because He Loves
After calling Himself the Light of the world, Jesus now turns to the reality of what happens when that light is rejected. He says,
47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
At first glance those words can seem confusing. Jesus says He did not come to judge the world, yet He immediately begins speaking about judgment. What Jesus is doing is distinguishing between His first coming and His second coming. When Christ came into the world the first time, He came on a mission of mercy. He came as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He came to seek and save the lost. He came to rescue sinners who could never save themselves. The purpose of His first coming was salvation.
That truth makes this moment even more remarkable. Remember where we are in John's Gospel. The crowds are rejecting Him. The religious leaders are rejecting Him. The nation as a whole is rejecting Him. In just a few days many of these same voices will be crying out for His crucifixion. Yet even now, Jesus is still extending mercy. He is still calling people to believe. He is still warning them about the consequences of rejecting Him.
Church, that tells us something important about the heart of Christ. Jesus does not warn people because He delights in judgment. He warns people because He loves them. The most loving thing a doctor can do is tell a patient the truth about a serious illness. The most loving thing a firefighter can do is warn someone that their house is on fire. In the same way, the most loving thing a Savior can do is tell people the truth about eternity.
Sometimes people create a version of Jesus that only speaks about love and never speaks about judgment. But that's not the Jesus we find in Scripture. The same Jesus who welcomed children, touched lepers, forgave sinners, and wept at Lazarus' tomb is the same Jesus who lovingly warned people about what would happen if they continued to reject Him. His warnings do not compete with His love. They flow from His love.
Notice what Jesus says in verse 48:
"The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge."
That statement brings us back to one of the major themes we've seen throughout John's Gospel. The problem was never a lack of evidence. The people standing before Jesus had seen the miracles. They had heard the teaching. They had watched Lazarus walk out of a tomb after being dead for four days. Like I said before the issue was not information. The issue was what they were doing with Jesus.
And that is still the question every person must answer today.
Many people want to make the conversation about religion, morality, or church attendance. But Jesus continually brings us back to Himself. The ultimate question is not whether someone thinks Jesus was a good teacher or a moral example. The ultimate question is whether they have received Him, trusted Him, and surrendered to Him as Lord and Savior. That’s what we will be judged on.
Think about the weight of what Jesus is saying. Every time someone hears the gospel, something significant is taking place. Every sermon preached, every Bible opened, every conversation about Christ, every invitation to repent and believe is another expression of God's mercy. God is revealing truth. God is offering Christ. God is extending grace. Jesus says that the very words being offered as life today will stand as testimony on the last day for those who continually reject Him.
But even here, we need to remember the heart of this passage. Jesus is not trying to push sinners away. He is trying to draw them near. The warning itself is an act of mercy. Every warning in Scripture is ultimately an invitation to run to Christ. It is God saying, "Don't stay where you are. Don't continue down this road. Come while there is still time."
That's exactly what Jesus is doing here in His final public message. Before He goes to the cross, before He bears the wrath of God in the place of sinners, He gives one last loving appeal. He warns them because He loves them. He tells them the truth because He desires their salvation.
And for those of us who are believers, these verses should fill our hearts with gratitude. The judgment Jesus speaks about is the judgment He came to bear for His people. The condemnation that should have fallen on us fell on Him. The wrath we deserved was poured out on Christ at Calvary. That's why Paul can say in Romans 8:1,
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Why is there no condemnation? Because Jesus was condemned in our place.
Church, the warning and the invitation belong together. The same Savior who warns about judgment is the Savior who is walking toward the cross. The same Savior who speaks about eternal consequences is the Savior who is about to lay down His life for sinners. And that makes His warning one more piece evidence of His incredible love and mercy toward people who desperately need Him.
POINT 4
POINT 4
Point 4: Jesus Reveals God's Plan of Salvation
Point 4: Jesus Reveals God's Plan of Salvation
As Jesus brings His final public message to a close, He takes us even deeper into the heart of what He has been saying throughout John's Gospel. He says,
49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”
These verses may not seem as dramatic as raising Lazarus from the dead or calming a storm, but they reveal something absolutely foundational about who Jesus is and why He came. Jesus wants His listeners to understand that He is not acting independently of the Father. He is not a religious teacher offering His own opinions. He is not a prophet presenting a new philosophy. Everything He says and everything He does flows from the eternal will and purpose of God.
Throughout John's Gospel, Jesus has repeatedly emphasized that He was sent by the Father.
In John 4:34 He said...
34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.
In John 6:38 He declared...
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
Again and again Jesus points beyond Himself to the Father who sent Him, not because He is less than the Father, but because He has come as the obedient Son carrying out the Father's plan of redemption.
I’ll say it again, that means the cross was never an accident.
Before the world was created, the Father had already designed a plan of redemption that would ultimately display His glory through the saving work of His Son.
Remember what I said about architectural plans in building? I've learned that every successful project begins with a plan. Before a foundation is poured or a wall is framed, somebody has already spent time thinking through the design. There are blueprints. There are measurements. There is purpose behind every detail. If a builder simply shows up and starts making things up as he goes, the result is usually chaos. But when a builder follows the design, the finished product reflects the vision of the architect.
In a far greater way, redemption unfolds according to the perfect wisdom and purpose of God. The Father designed the plan. The Son came to accomplish the plan. Every miracle, every sermon, every confrontation with the Pharisees, every step toward Jerusalem, and every nail driven into Christ's hands was part of the Father's eternal purpose.
And what amazes me is the perfect obedience of Jesus throughout it all.
If we're honest, obedience does not come naturally to us. From the time we're children, something inside us resists authority. We want our own way. We want our own plans. We want our own will to be done. Yet when we look at Jesus, we see perfect obedience. Philippians 2 tells us that He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Every moment of His earthly ministry was marked by joyful submission to the Father's will.
That obedience matters because where Adam failed, Christ succeeded. Where Israel failed, Christ succeeded. Where you and I fail every single day, Christ succeeded. He lived the perfectly obedient life that none of us could ever live. He fulfilled every righteous requirement of God. He became the spotless Lamb who could die in the place of sinners.
And this is where the gospel becomes so beautiful.
Jesus says in verse 50,
"And I know that his commandment is eternal life."
Think about that statement for a moment. Everything Jesus has been saying throughout John's Gospel has been pointing people toward life. Not temporary life. Not merely a better life. Eternal life.
The Father's plan was life.
The Son's mission was life.
The gospel offers life.
The reason Jesus came into the world was not ultimately to condemn sinners but to save sinners. The reason He went to the cross was so that spiritually dead people could be made alive. The reason He would soon endure the wrath of God was so that those who trust Him could receive eternal life instead of eternal judgment.
And that brings us to the work of the Holy Spirit. While the Spirit is not explicitly mentioned in these verses, the rest of John's Gospel helps us understand how this plan of salvation is applied to sinners.
The Father planned redemption.
The Son accomplished redemption.
The Holy Spirit applies and sustains redemption.
Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3 that a person must be born again by the Spirit. Later He would tell His disciples that the Spirit would glorify Christ and reveal the truth about Him.
Paul says in Titus 3:5 that...
5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
In Ephesians 1 13-14
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
In other words, salvation is entirely God's work from beginning to end. The Father planned it. The Son purchased it. The Spirit applies it.
That truth should produce tremendous humility in us. When I look back on my own testimony, I realize that I wasn't searching for God nearly as much as God was pursuing me. Sitting in a jail cell, trapped in addiction and darkness, I wasn't one brilliant decision away from saving myself. What I needed was divine intervention. I needed the Father who planned redemption, the Son who accomplished redemption, and the Spirit who opens blind eyes and brings dead sinners to life.
The same is true for every believer in this room. Whether your testimony involves addiction, self-righteousness, rebellion, or years of quiet religious activity, the reality is the same. None of us saved ourselves. None of us made ourselves spiritually alive. None of us earned God's favor. Salvation belongs to the Lord.
And I think that's exactly where Jesus wants us to end. His final public words are not ultimately about human effort. They are about God's saving purpose. They are about the Father's plan, the Son's obedience, and the eternal life offered through the gospel.
As Jesus stands only days away from the cross, He is reminding His listeners that everything is unfolding exactly according to God's design. The Father sent Him. The Father gave Him His message. The Father established the plan. And the Son has come to accomplish it perfectly.
That means the cross is not a tragedy to be pitied. It is a victory to be celebrated. It is the place where God's eternal plan of redemption comes into full view. It is where justice and mercy meet. It is where sinners are forgiven. It is where eternal life is purchased for all who believe.
And that is why Jesus can end His public ministry talking about eternal life. Even with the shadow of the cross growing larger, He knows exactly what the Father is accomplishing. Through His death and resurrection, light will overcome darkness, life will overcome death, and sinners who trust in Him will be saved forever.
Church, that is not merely good news.
That is the greatest news the world has ever heard.
CLOSING
CLOSING
The Same Invitation Still Stands
The Same Invitation Still Stands
As we come to the end of this passage, I want us to remember what we've just witnessed. These are Jesus' final public words before the cross. The crowds have seen the miracles. The religious leaders have hardened hearts. Many have rejected Him despite overwhelming evidence. Yet Jesus does not end His public ministry with anger or condemnation.
He ends with an invitation.
He ends with a plea to believe.
That is the heart of our Savior.
I can't help but think back to Lazarus. Jesus stood outside a tomb and called a dead man to come out. Lazarus didn't raise himself. Dead men don't bring themselves to life. Jesus called, Jesus gave life, and Lazarus came out.
Church, that's not just Lazarus' story. That's our story.
The longer I walk with Christ, the more I realize that my story is not ultimately about how I found Him. It's about how He found me. It's about a Savior who kept pursuing me when I was running, kept calling me when I wasn't listening, and kept showing mercy when I certainly didn't deserve it. That's exactly what we see in this passage. Even as people reject Him, Jesus is still calling them to believe.
Church, the older I get, the less impressed I am with what I have done and the more amazed I am by what God has done. The longer I walk with Christ, the more I realize that every good thing in my life traces back to His grace. Every step, every blessing, every evidence of transformation points back to a faithful Savior who refused to let me go.
And if you're a believer today, that's your testimony too.
The Father planned salvation.
The Son accomplished salvation.
The Spirit applied salvation.
That's why all the glory belongs to Him.
What amazes me most about this passage is that Jesus knows the cross is only days away. He knows the suffering that awaits Him. He knows many in this crowd will continue rejecting Him. Yet His heart is still turned toward sinners. He is still calling. He is still inviting. He is still offering life.
That means the same invitation that stood before the crowd in John 12 stands before us today.
If you've never trusted Christ, come to Him. The answer to your guilt, your shame, your brokenness, and your sin is not trying harder. The answer is Jesus. He is the Light of the world. He is the Savior of sinners. He is the only One who can bring life to the spiritually dead.
And for those of us who know Him, this passage should leave us humbled and grateful. We weren't saved because we were smarter, better, or more deserving than anyone else. We were saved because God was merciful. He opened our eyes to see the beauty of His Son.
Church, the last public words of Jesus before the cross were not words of revenge, but words of invitation. And if that was His heart then, it is still His heart now.
Come to Christ and live.
Amen? Amen!
Let’s Pray.
