4 Essential Pre-Graduation Questions

Graduation is a word that is used for various times in life. One of the times that this term is used is tonight - tonight is a high school graduation. Another time the term is used is the night that someone passes from this life into eternity. You might hear a loved one say, “He graduated into eternity” this evening.

Graduation means that you have successfully completed a course of study or training. It means that you are tying up the final loose end in your course here and going on to a next phase.

In the case of Jesus Christ, you can sense that he is speaking with a mind of completion in John 18:37, when he says, “to this end” was I born. It is as though he knows he has entered final phase. His final phase means that he will die to close off this segment of His life. After this graduation, Jesus would relate to his disciples differently. He would manifest himself differently.

The graduation of Jesus included the Cross, but lest you think it was purely morbid, the Bible says that there was joy for which He endured. He was not a sadist who enjoyed the suffering, but He understood that on the other side of the Cross there was joy.

In many ways, this evening you are closing off many loose ends. In on sense, you will be dead to the expectations of MCS. You will enter into new obligations. The way you relate to the faculty and administration will be different. The difference will be in large part because you go through the threshold of graduation.

What is striking about these final moments for Jesus is how clear he was about certain things. These certain things, I will put to you in what I have called “4 Essential Pre-Graduation Questions.” Now, this is the first time you are hearing this message, so for some of you you have just a few moments to consider these questions, but I do want you to consider these questions.

These are questions that I have called essential questions because of the struggle over these questions by ethicists, but Jesus seemed to have not trouble in answering these questions.

(1) Who should I be? John 18:33-34

One of the struggles of the passage surrounds the identity of Jesus. Jesus shows clarity regarding who He is. John 18:36. Tremendous trials will expose whether we are stable in our identity.

While much of the world is teaching that you need to discover yourself, Jesus offers something quite different. Notice the question that Jesus poses to Pilate in John 18:34. Your identity is attached to your King.

Jesus did not come into this world to simply be an example of sacrificial service. He came to conquer the hearts of sinners who were enslaved to other gods. Jesus lived perfectly, died horrifically, and arose victoriously. If you believe upon Him, you can have forgiveness of all of your sins and inextricably tie your identity to Him. This then leads us to the next question.

(2) What should I do? John 18:37

Jesus was clear, in this pre-graduation moment, regarding his duty. This solidarity is quite unusual when facing life/death situation. Just a few paragraph’s earlier, the lead disciple Peter is on a different kind of trial, and Peter denies Jesus Christ three times.

With increasing clarity, you and I should be followers of Jesus who understand our ultimate duty is to be witnesses to the truth. This is not a question about career path. This is a greater question than career path. Jesus was a Carpenter, but that is not thought of here. His duty was connected to another kingdom. This kind of question leads to a more specific question.

(3) To what causes should I devote my life energy? John 18:38 was I born

This is where it becomes even more intriguing. It’s as if Jesus took a long look back, all the way to his birth and announced, “This was the goal of my birth”.

I like the way Ravi Zacharias used to ask life’s most important questions. He boiled them down to four questions that he said every person will have to ask at some point:

Origin - Where did I come from?

Meaning - Why am I here?

Morality - What is the basis of right/wrong while I am here?

Destiny - Where am I going?

Of these four questions, the question about meaning should cause you to think about goals. The question is “Why am I here?” What goals should be set to ensure that I fulfill the meaning for which God created me?

(4) How can I distinguish truth from error? John 18:37-38

Jesus has a unique position here. He is truth embodied. Thus, anything that conforms to who He is and what He says is truth. Anything or anyone who denies Him or denies what He says is in darkness. Those who are of the truth hear Him.

The caution I would have for you here is that you discern truth by whether the idea or theory conforms to Jesus Christ or not. The Jesus Christ Standard cannot be one that is based on what you feel about Jesus or what you think about Jesus. It must be truth about Jesus that is explicitly confirmed by sound, scriptural interpretation.

There will be times when you might feel that the Christlike thing to do is to say “Yes” or show more grace, but the Jesus of the Bible is not only a Sacrificial Lamb. He is also a Victorious Lion. So, distinguishing truth from error comes as you grow intimately in knowledge of Jesus Christ from the scriptures. This is especially why it is important to be part of a local community of believer who will soundly preach the word.

Four pre-graduation questions:

Who should I be?

What should I do?

To what causes should I devote my life?

How can I distinguish truth from error?