Sermon Tone Analysis

*Believe!

Receive!*

May 18, 2008

John 1:9-13

 

 

Continuing on in our series of messages from the book of John, John resumes his revelation of Jesus’ true nature and purpose in the world.

In John1 and verses 9 through 13, we read:

/“The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not.

He came to his own home, and his own people received him not.

But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

“/

 

Here is the first reference in John's gospel to the incarnation of Jesus.

He was "the true light that gives light to every man."

What is this "light" that the "true light" gives to every human being?

It is the light of creation.

It is the witness that God's creation gives to the existence, the power, and the awesome intellect of God.

Jesus is that light, because He is the Creator behind all creation.

The creation speaks of God, and Jesus is the creative Word which spoke the creation into being.

This point in John's message raises a question that many people have asked — both Christians and non-Christians.

"What about those who have never heard the gospel?

How can you say that people who do not know Jesus Christ in a personal way are condemned for eternity if they have never /heard /of Jesus Christ in this life?"

What these people are really saying is, "Isn't God unfair?

We can understand how God could say that people are responsible if they have heard the gospel, if they have Bibles to read or a Christian witness to listen to.

But what about those in remote places, people who have never been reached by missionaries, those who have had no opportunity to hear about Jesus?

Is God going to condemn them too?" Listen to what Romans 1: /For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse/.

Brian Derksen has written a beautiful song called “Creation Calls”.

The chorus reads “How can I say there is no God~/ When all creation calls.”

There are no people who have not heard about God.

You may find this a surprising statement, yet this is exactly the point that Paul argues so eloquently and definitively in Romans 10:8 /But what does it say?

"THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART"—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,/ God has planted the seeds of faith in each heart.

Now listen to what Paul says toward the end of Romans, chapter 10.  /But I say, surely they have never heard, have they?

Indeed they have; "THEIR VOICE HAS GONE OUT INTO ALL THE EARTH, AND THEIR WORDS TO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD."

\\ But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they?

First Moses says, "I WILL MAKE YOU JEALOUS BY THAT WHICH IS NOT A NATION, BY A NATION WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING WILL I ANGER YOU." \\ And Isaiah is very bold and says, "I WAS FOUND BY THOSE WHO DID NOT SEEK ME, I BECAME MANIFEST TO THOSE WHO DID NOT ASK FOR ME." \\ But as for Israel He says, "ALL THE DAY LONG I HAVE STRETCHED OUT MY HANDS TO A DISOBEDIENT AND OBSTINATE PEOPLE."

/ All day long God’s hand stretches out to us through His creation.

Now, listen to Psalm 19:1-2 /The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

\\ Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge.

/

I confess to you that I am amazed and a little perplexed that so many scientists — men and women who work on an intimate, daily basis with the marvels of nature, the miracles of modern medicine, and the wonders of high technology — have concluded that the universe came into existence by blind chance!

Astronomers explore the heavens — the very heavens that declare God's glory and proclaim the work of His hands — yet many astronomers insist that the billions of galaxies which wheel through the heavens in orderly arrangement just happened!

Biologists study the complex interactions of plant and animal life, while talking about the genetic "code" that is written in a strand of DNA — yet many biologists refuse to acknowledge the existence of a "Code-Maker."

All of this complex, fine-tuned order is the result of "blind chance," say unbelieving scientists.

And they say Christians believe in miracles!

To me, an atheist's faith in "blind chance" is much more miraculous than a Christian's belief in a Cosmic Designer!

As someone has observed, it is comparable to having a tornado blow through a junkyard and spontaneously assemble a space shuttle!

What is it that blinds human beings to the testimony of nature?

John tells us that God has a witness in the form of the "light" (or revealed truth) of creation.

But he also tells us that the "light" that is revealed by creation has also been personified in Jesus.

The light has walked among us.

The light has demonstrated God's power by commanding the wind and the waves to be still.

The light has turned water into wine, has taken simple elements of bread and fish and fed thousands of people, has delivered men and women from crippling disease and blindness and death.

The Creator, says John, has stood in our midst.

The true light, that sheds a revealing light on everyone, came into the world—the world that he had made.

As it says in verse 10: /"He was in the world and the world was made through him."/

Cut Knife and all the area around it and everyone in them—including you and me—were made through him.

As verse 3 says, /"All things were made through him and without him was not anything made that was made."/

Therefore when it says, he came to /"his own"/ for that's what verse 11 says, /"He came to his own."/

He came to what belongs to him by right of creation.

He came to his own possession, his own domain, the house of humanity that he had built for a dwelling place.

But verse 11 goes on, /"But his own received him not."

/He came to Cut Knife and they received him not.

They rejected him in their stores with "Seasons' Greetings" instead of "CHRISTmas."

They rejected him in their restaurants with "Happy Holidays" instead of "CHRISTmas."

They rejected him in their secular marketing exploitation of his birthday.

They rejected him with a thousand knick-knacks and baubles instead of a baby in a manger.

They rejected him in their stripped down carols and nonsense tunes.

They rejected him in their public schools, and even in their churches, with Christ-less plays.

And they rejected Him at Easter by substituting a rabbit for the crucified Christ who raised Himself from a stone-cold tomb after paying the ultimate price for our salvation.

A rabbit who lays eggs!

How bizarre is that?

That would take a miracle!

He came to his own and his own received him not.

As John 3:19–20 says, /"This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

For everyone who is evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed."/

The light came to his own and his own were in love with the dark.

And so they did not receive the light.

What's more, the Creator came to His own people as the Messiah, the promised One, and was not received.

"He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him," says John 1:11.

This is clearly a reference to the people and to the land of Israel.

Jesus came to the place where God had put His name, to the land that had been promised to Abraham.

He came to the temple that was dedicated to God the Father.

Yet His own people — the chosen people who had been instructed for centuries about the coming suffering Servant of Jehovah who would take their sin upon himself — would not receive Him.

Ray Stedman talks about a discussion he had in a meeting with eleven Reformed Jewish rabbis in Los Angeles.

“We had a very rich and cordial exchange of viewpoints.

During that discussion one of the rabbis joked, "You know, when the Messiah comes, we Jews will say to Him, 'Welcome,' and you Christians will say, 'Welcome back.'

But the Messiah will say, 'No comment.' "

I laughed — but I did not agree!

I believe that when the Messiah returns, He will say what is recorded in the prophecy of Zechariah.

In that day, says Zechariah, the Jews will ask Him, "What are these wounds on your body?"

And the Messiah will answer, "The wounds I was given at the house of my friends."Truly,

Jesus came to His own people, and they did not receive Him.”

So we are confronted right away in John's gospel with the darkness of the world — a darkness resulting from blindness.

The Gentiles are blind because they will not acknowledge their Creator, even though He has given a convincing demonstration of His power in nature and in the appearance in our midst of God the Son.

The Jews are blind because they cannot see their own long-promised Messiah — even though He has fulfilled all the messianic prophecies of the Old Testament.

Josh McDowell has written two books, “Evidence that Demand a Verdict” an “More Evidence that Demands a Verdict” listing every Old Testament prophesy fulfilled by Jesus.

If you are interested in fact on fact to build your faith, I highly recommend these two books.

Does this mean that Jesus was a failure at what He set out to do? Absolutely not!

God always accomplishes His purpose.

Despite the world's rejection, despite the Jews' denial of His Messiahship, there were those who believed and received Jesus, the eternal Creator, as their Lord.

/"But,"/ verse 12 says, /"to all who received him, who believe in his name, he gave authority to become children of God."/

This means that those who reject the light are not the children of God.

God is not everybody's Father.