Miserable Sinners, Marvellous Saviour
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Introduction
Introduction
This is a passage that humbles mankind.
It reminds us that we are miserable sinners.
and it exhults the glorious mercy, grace, love, campassion, strength, majesty, obedience of our Lord
The marvelous Saviour.
They’re our 2 points today.
1 - Miserable Sinners
2 - Marvelous Saviour
Chapter 17 ends that glorious teaching that we have enjoyed for the last few weeks
of Jesus
prepareing his beloved disciples
for his death,
resurection
and ascension back to the father.
Jesus’ ends his teaching by praying to his Father in heaven, and that ends like this:
I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
We look at JEsus and we see God the Father!
No other way,
No other truth,
No other life!
Nothing else in this world has any hope or chance of allowing us to enjoy the love of God!
A world made wretched through sinful man and fallen satan!
A world full of religions of lies,
moral blindness,
Only Jesus. Claims Jesus.
Only Jesus is the way to God Almighty.
It’s an exclusive claim!
It’s an offencive claim if you believe in a different way.
Jesus was very clear!
Jesus is the only way.
Or face the wrath and judgement of the one true God.
You see ,
The gospel of Jesus is not meak and mild,
softly softly,
he loves all and all love him,
Believe what you want,
think of him what you want,
as long as you’re true to yourself and
loving to others.
Have you read John’s gospel!
Have you read any book of the bible for that matter!
The Gospel, Jesus is devisive!
The responce to Jesus
and the disciples proclamation of Jesus
was not one that left people feeling warm and fuzzy inside about humanity!
They either bowed in belief and repentance,
recognising they were miserable sinners
, and then enjoyed his forgiveness, love and grace,
Or, they got mad - really mad!
Are we preaching the right gospel today if we never offend anyone!
If we never challenge people to see the deapth of their sin before a Holy God?
We don’t like to hear we are sinners,
Even as Christians we don’t like to hear that we still sin and fall short of the glory of God!
Even with the help of the HS in us we let Jesus down.
Sin is miserable - for it leads to death!
Either for us - if we don’t repent and believe,
Or for Jesus if we do believe.
Why am I starting with this?
Because if we deny or soften how miserable our sin is,
Then we deny or soften the need for,
and work of,
our marvelous Saviour.
If sin isn’t miserable and real,
Todays passage makes no scene,
Jesus’ actions to go along with his arrest make no sense,
We must acknowldge our miserable sin,
and our need for a marvelous sacrificial saviour.
I think that is what our passage today reminds us very clear:
So our first point:
1 - Miserable Sinners
1 - Miserable Sinners
When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.
Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.
Judas who left Jesus, accepting a bribe to hand
him over to the Cheif priests and Pharrisses,
highlights our own self-serving ways.
Perhaps it’s a love of money that keeps us quiet at work about our faith,
we’d rather be liked and promoted than risk being disliked
for the truth of the
gospel -
that calls people to repent.
Perhaps it’s a love of money that stops us giving generously to the work of the gospel
in WP
and to all nations.
Perhaps it’s a love of money that
allows us to make questionable deals that Jesus would disapproove of,
Perhaps it’s a love of money that stops us bowing to Jesus in the first place?
We;re miserable sinners,
And like Judas - we betray our Lord.
Pause
John 18:3–5 NIV
So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
Miserable sinners that we are,
perhaps we like the Phariseas, Cheif priests and soldiers.
Reduce the kingship of Jesus,
‘In their case’ to a simple man - no better than you or I.
Jesus of Nazareth, - that guy from down the road.
Says it all doesn’t it!
Denying everything Jesus has said he is,
everything he has done,
Jesus was well just a good moral teacher,
Or he didn’t exists at all,
He’s just some lead charaeter in a good book.
It’s misareable sin to deny the deity and kingship of Jesus.
He’s nobody worthy,
certainly nobody worth giving all of my life to!
Or worse,
perhaps as Christians we lower the deiety and kingship of Jesus.
Oh, he may be God, but..
he’ll forgive me if I do this or that again.
He doesn’t really need me to study his Word,
Commit and serve in a new familiy of believers?
Can’t I do it my way?
It’s only Jesus of Nazareth.
PAuse
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)
As fellow humans, we have to feel sorry for Peter don’t we?
He seems to be trying his best,
But even his best is tainted with miserble sin,
misundertsnading and ulitmately a rebelion and distraction from the purposes of God.
Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”
You still don’t get it Peter
- full of zeal, but a zeal driven by his own plans and thoughts.
Jesus just spent 5 chapters preparing them for this moment,
and instantly Peter tries to stop it!
The miserable sin of thinking we know and underttand better than God.
trusting ourselevse before God.
Sure, it’s well intended - from our point of view!
It’s perhaps the ‘softended down gospel we share,’ so as not to overly offend,
It’s the ideas founded in human wisdom and ideas, that statistically ought to work,
but actually undermine key doctrins of the bible.
Put your sword away miserable sinner.
This has to happen Jesus’ way, and only his way.
pause
And now of course, Peter becomes the star of our Miserable Sinners Show!
After Jesus is led away by the solidiers,
Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in.
“You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” she asked Peter.
He replied, “I am not.”
Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming himself. So they asked him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?”
He denied it, saying, “I am not.”
One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?”
Here’s his chance to humble himself before the Lord Jesus..
Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.
That sickening crow of the rooster confirming to Peter that yes, even he,
the most zelous of disicples
the most well intentioned is:
a miserable sinner,
who denies Jesus when it gets tough,
or the preassure is on.
Afraid on man not God,
Some of you might think I’m being harsh by condemning all these people as miserable sinners!
But Isn’t this the VERY point Jesus is making!
He, Jesus, predicted this miserable denial of Peter back in
Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!
Even Peter!! Even you will disown me,
in all your enthusiasm!
Pause
There are more sinners in our narrative,
When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded.
The shame and irony of this official,
adding another layer to our miserable sin!
The sin of raising others above Jesus -
This time it’s not self-elevation
but this offcicial raises a high preist above the King of the universe!
It’s idolatary,
perhaps we find more joy in a celebrity preacher than Jesus and his word?
Perhpas for some listeneing it’s another religion above Jesus,
or an important person,
Our familiy comes first before Jesus.
To raise anyone or anything above Jesus is to slap him in the face!
Pause
All this is a tradgic fulfilling of the opening verses of John’s gospel,
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
Miserable, wretched, lost, denyers, agressors, proud, lovers of money, lovers of self, lovers of comfort, every last one of us a miserable sinner in our total depravity and rejection of Jesus.
And this arrest of Jesus is almost one last reminder from him,
Don’t ever big yourselves up,
Don’t ever think you are ‘pretty ok’ before God on your own.
On our OWN - Our miserbale sin condemns us to a just judgement from God.
Our only hope - is if we are saved from our very selves.
If we have our sin removed in some way,
And the only whay that can happen is,
As Jesus has already told us,
Through HIM, the only WAY, TRUTH AND LIFE,
You see we shouldn’t be afraid to hear of our sin,
or our wretchedness,
or our rebelion and denial of Jesus.
For the more we play that down and soften it, and ignore it,
and suggest it’s not too bad,
well then the more we play down our
2 - Magnificent Saviour!
2 - Magnificent Saviour!
You see, Jesus did not go to his death for a few people
who were sort of ok,
but got it a bit wrong!
Jesus died - drank the cup of wrath from God the Father
- to pay the penalty of eternal death and judgement before God.
You see while John predicts the rejection of Jesus in chapter 1,
He also predicts a saviour,
who will act outside of human sinfulness,
A light that will overpower the darkness for all who believe.
And just think about this for a second.
We are so miserable and lost in our sin (dead in our sin we read in Romans)
that Jesus had to die, yes
But think what that means of Jesus’ love for us!
He wasn’t just sticking up for a mate,
recipricating a favour,
chiviying along a weak friend!
He died for those who all out reject him!
Jesus died, was arrested for people like us, miserable sinners!
Such is the love of our marvelous saviour.
Don’t soften the depth of our sin,
or soften the judgement we deserve,
or soften our gospel message to be warm and fussy!
It only dimisinshes the death of Jesus for us!
Human nature is to be miserable, wretched sinners,
who have hearts of stone against God,
And so we must repent.
and then we see his love in dying for us,
we are given his spiriit to convict us of sin
so that we may truely enjoy the good news -
Knowing Jesus himself forever more.
And look what a magnificent saviour he is:
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.
“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
The audacity to lower Jesus to less than themselves gets a response that causes them to fall back and fall down!
I AM - he, says Jesus.
Unmistakably picking up the language of Isaiah 40 to 55 where God Alimighty himself takes that great name for himself!
“I am the Lord; that is my name!
I will not yield my glory to another
or my praise to idols.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.
I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
I, and not some foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.
Yes, and from ancient days I am he.
No one can deliver out of my hand.
When I act, who can reverse it?”
I am the Lord, your Holy One,
Israel’s Creator, your King.”
“This is what the Lord says—
Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there is no God.
Remember the former things, those of long ago;
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.
I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.
- repeated again anad again!
The soiiders fall back and fall down!
we’re not told if it’s the sheer majesty and glory of God being revealed as Jesus speaks these words that throws them back,
or simply their own shock and outrage at the audaciuty Jesus has to call himself the Almighty,
the great I AM,
beside me there is no other!
Friends, Jesus is not to be lessened, or lowerd to meer mortal.
He is not to be dethroned,
taken lightly,
ignored,
HE IS I AM!
OUr Marvelous Saviour
Mighty One.
And all will one day be casued to fall back at his glory!
Either willingly and in praise as forgiven believers,
by our marvelous saviour
, or forcibly as miserable sinners who never repent.
pause
What love is this that the soverighn I AM would choose death for miserable sinners like you and me?
Lets Stop patting ourseleves,
as if we have any credit for our salvation,
or for our relationship with God.
It is all the marvelous work of our marvelous Saviour Jesus.
Even faith itself is a gift from him,
Even obedience and our good works as believers are from him,
We have nothing to boast about
other than
Our Marvelous Saviour.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Don’t be afraid to tell yourself and other people the truth of our miserable state before God - without Jesus.
For unless we do,
They and we will have no need for the truth of our marvelous saviour.
Pray