John Part 27
Notes
Transcript
Ok, last week we stopped at chapter 12 verse 40.
And Jesus was telling the crowd
To walk in the light
and to believe in the light
And if they would do this
Jesus promised that they would be come sons of the light.
Of course, we were reminded of John’s prologue
In chapter 1
John introduced the subject of Light
And he said that Jesus was the light that that lights all men
And so, here in chapter 12,
We must under stand that son of the Light
Is the same as being called a Son of God
Because JEsus is God.
And in chapter 12
John said that he came unto his own
and his own people did not receive him
but to as many who did received him
He gave them power, or the right, to become sons of God.
Chapter 12 vs 37 says that
though Jesus had done so many signs before them
they still did not believe in him.
Therefore, they could not become Sons of Light
AKA Sons of God.
Then John tells us that this episode took places
So that the word of Isaiah might be fulfilled.
And if you recall
There were two prophecies of Isaiah referred to in this scene.
Chapter 6, and Chapter 53.
In Ch 6, Isaiah had a vision of the throne room
And in Ch 53, Isaiah had a vision of the cross.
And Jesus is talking in chapter 12 about both of those subjects
The “lifting up” of the Messiah is both a referent to his death on the cross
and his crowning exaltation as the King of kings.
So that is why John ties this scene back to Isaiah ch 6 and ch 53.
And then we come to verse 41
Where we stopped last week.
41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.
The “he” and “his” and “him” in this verse
can only be talking about Jesus.
But it is talking about chapter 6 and chapter 53.
The glorification of Jesus
Did not happen by simply taking his seat on the throne
It came by way of the cross.
The train of his robe didn’t fill the temple
Simply because he was crowned King
his glory was because of the cross.
There is no Isaiah ch 6 Jesus
Without the chapter 53 Jesus.
And this lines up perfectly with Phil chapter 2
He humbled himself through death
even the death of the cross
and therefore, God has highly exalted him
and given him a name above every other name
What is amazing is that a Jew reading this would not have imagined
That the one on the throne in Is chapter 6 was Jesus
Even Isaiah would likely have been surprise
We know this because he said “woe is me”
why did he say that?
Because he said, “for my eyes have seen the King”,
and he calls the King “The LORD of Host”,
and in the Hebrew, that is not the word Lord
It the name YHWH.
Isaiah thought he was going to die
or was already dead
because, as John stated in chapter 1 of this book
No man has seen the Father at any time and lived
You can’t look at YHWH because He is a Spirit
And Spirits are invisible to our human eyes
So, if you could see the Father
it means you are dead
and yet Isaiah said
My eyes have seen the King, YHWH
But John tells us in chapter 12,
That Isaiah was actually seeing the Glory of Jesus.
sitting on the throne.
John is not trying to prove that there is a second eternal divine person
who sits on the throne
He is trying to show you who Jesus really is
The same YHWH that Isaiah saw sitting on the throne
Was now standing in front of them.
YHWH didn’t send another person
He came himself
10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord [YHWH].
So, John says…
41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.
42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue;
Ok, so, John says, Isaiah said these things
and what are “these things”
It was the quotation from chapter Is 6
and we read it last week
But it is here in Jn 12.40
He says, they can’t see him
they won’t understand him
and therefore, they will not be healed or saved.
And John says, Isaiah said those things
and yet, in verse 42, John says
Some of them actually did understand him
Some of them actually did see the truth
they did believe in him
BUT—
But for fear, the did not confess it.
Who beleived?
John said, may of the authorities
That means, the rulers
the members of the San Hedran
Other Pharisees
They believed
but they did not admit that they believed
why?
Because they were afraid of the other Pharisees.
And more specifically
that the other Pharisees would kick them out of the club
I’m fairly certain there are many religious who have found the truth
but they will not confess it publically
because they are afraid of getting kicked out of their clubs.
You can’t tell me that a pastor,
who spends all his life praying and studying the word of God
doesn’t eventually see the truth
because if they are hungry and thirsty for righteousness
Jesus said they would be filled.
Cornelius in Acts 10 is a great example of someone who
did not have the full truth
but worshipped God the best way he knew how
and God sent Peter a dream
and got them connected
because anyone who is hungry for truth
will be filled
But for fear of the other religious leaders
these Jews did not confess that Jesus was the Christ
Even though they knew it was true
You can’t let fear of getting kicked out of a religious club
cause you to deny the truth
That won’t bode well for you in the end
The truth is always greater than tradition
But these Jews didn’t think so
So, they kept quiet about their belief in Jesus
And verse 43 tells us the root cause of it.
43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
And this is still an issue today
There is a lot riding on turning from traditions to truth
But the real reason, the root cause of it
is loving the glory that comes from man
more than the glory that comes from God
So, some people choose to hold onto positions,
titles, book sales, tithe payers,
and national recognition
while keeping their true beliefs to themselves
Because The Holy Spirit WILL lead you into all Truth
but it won’t force you to follow.
especially if you love the glory that comes from man
more than the glory that comes from God
Jesus knew the crowd’s heart
He knew their thoughts
their intentions.
He knew they believed but would not confess
and by the way
I thought just believing in Jesus was enough for salvation?
Well, this passage, seems to contradict that idea
Because they certainly believed in Jesus according to verse 42
but they would not confess it
And, it is clear that John is painting a picture of those who were not saved
Those who did not become sons of God
Those who received him not
and those who did not choose to walk in the light
to become sons of Light
But… apparently they DID believe in Jesus.
but the Bible makes it clear
that belief that stays only in your mind
is never enough.
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
Of course, James is making the point here that faith without works is dead
And John is backing him up in chapter 12
but saying that belief without confession is dead
And not just a confession with your mouth
although that is where it starts according to Romans 10
but you gotta confess it with your whole life
WALK in the light
Jesus said in verse 35
Not TALK in the light.
You gotta walk the walk.
So, we will finish up here
but reading the rest of chapter 12
and here what Jesus says to these men
who believed in him
but would not confess it
44 And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me.
Verse 44 says that they are not believing in Jesus when they to believe in him
but instead, they are believing in the him who sent Jesus.
And we know, and have established many times in this study
that John states plainly that it is God the Father who sent Jesus
So, Jesus is saying, when you believe in me
you are believing in the Father.
45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.
Not only are you believing in the father
but when you see Jesus, you are seeing the Father
and that is not all
He’s also about to tell them
that when you hear Jesus
You are hearing the Father
46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.
Remember, that is a major theme of this book
and one John hits hard in this chapter
Jesus is the light
and he is bringing us out of darkness into Truth
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.
Notice the word “keep” here.
Not just hear and believe
but hear and keep his words.
And we will see in a moment that the words of Jesus
are actually the words of God the Father speaking through him
Jesus says, I do not Judge you
Not that he will never judge
but that he didn’t come to judge the world this time around
his mission was to save the world
The first coming was to save the world
the second coming will end in Judgment
but Jesus says…
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.
If you don’t receive his words after his first coming
Then his words will judge you on the last day.
And why do the words of Jesus have any weight at all?
Jesus tells them why…
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.
I put “authority” in brackets here
it is a word the ESV adds, but is not in the original text
You can see this if you compare it with other English translations
without learning to read the Greek.
49 For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.
49 For I have not spoken on my own, but the Father himself who sent me has given me a command to say everything I have said.
The word “authority” is added to the ESV, NKJV, and a few other’s
because without that word it sounds too much like jesus is saying that the Father is speaking through him.
Authority implies that Jesus has permission to speak the words
without that word
It sounds like Jesus is not speaking alone
but that the Father is speaking through him.
50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”
Here, Jesus restates the same claim
What I’m saying
Is what the Father has said to me
In other words
The words of Jesus
are the words of the Father
So, in these last 7 verses
Jesus has claimed
If you believe in me
you believe in the Father
If you see me
You see the Father
and if you hear me
You are hearing the Father
And the reason he is saying all this
Is because these Jews are going to try and say that
They only follow the commandments of God the Father
and Jesus is making sure they have a “word to be judge by”
on Judgment day
If they make that claim
He will point back to these words
and they will be judged by it Jesus says.
