John 20:30-31
Notes
Transcript
Today our journey begins through the Gospel of John!
This will be the biggest undertaking that our young congregation has ever attempted
More than likely take us into 2022.
But what we will discover over this next year will unite us and strengthen us in such a beautiful and profound way.
Let us begin this journey by starting in perhaps an unlikely place. The back of the Gospel.
John Chapter 20 verses 30-31.
If you have your Bibles or your study guides, let’s open them up to page 120 or turn them on if that is your preference and let’s see why we are starting here instead of Chapter 1.
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Instead of John giving us the overview in the beginning of the Gospel, He gives us the overview as he is wrapping up the Gospel.
Which is why I want us to start here so that we can get the big picture and the purpose of the Gospel.
What is the big picture?
John records and tells us that Jesus came and did many signs. (7) that are recorded in this Gospel.
Along with 7 times Jesus telling us that He is the I AM, the phrase used of God Himself
So that we would believe that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God
And that by believing we will have life in His name.
Before we tackle these great and profound signs and proclamations let us take a few minutes to see who our guide for this Journey will be.
Who is John, and how is he revealed to us in Scripture?
I’ve invited my daughters Eleni & Chloe to help me with visual slides to tell the story.
Meet John!
John is not described in anyway to us in the Bible, so we do not know what he looked like, what shade of skin color, what hair, whether he had a beard or not.
The same is true of Jesus. Now our culture has adopted an image of Jesus, but the Bible gives us no indication of what he actually looked like.
The only thing we are told about Jesus’s appearance comes from Isaiah
For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
Which most of the pictures of Jesus have him in long flowing brown hair, beautiful skin, gazing eyes, and gentle look. We can say pretty confidently, that wasn’t what he looked like.
As with John we are given no clues of what John looked like.
Meet James! John has a brother named James and both were called by Jesus to be a disciple.
And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.
Now this is not to be confused with Jesus’s Brother called James.
Let’s Meet the Family. John is the son of Zebedee and we also know His mother’s name is Salome (Suh-low-may)
Now we know Salome is the mother by comparing verses Matthew 27:56 with Mark 15:40 let’s do that now.
among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
At the cross we see the two Mary’s and we find James and John’s mother there. Here is were some detective work begins.
The parallel verse (meaning the same part in the story) in Mark reads as follows.
There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome.
You may notice the two different spellings of Joseph. It is similar to like my name. When my mom is angry with me she calls me Anthony and everyone else knows me by Tony.
So, here we see the name of James and John’s mother to be Salome (Suh-low-may)
So now we know we have the family of Zebedee, Salome, James, and John and that James and John were disciples of Jesus.
By digging further into the parents we see that Zebedee and Salome (Suh-low-may) were well off financially.
This will play an important part with John later on, but let’s start here with how we know this.
And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.
Zebedee had hired servants and it wasn’t just him.
First, if you didn’t have money you would be doing all the work yourself, this wasn’t the case with Zebedee
Secondly, this helps us not feel so bad when James and John up and left their dad to finish the fishing for the day
When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.
Now we see that Salome (Sul-low-may) contributed to the purchasing of the spices needed to anoint Jesus’s body.
With money, comes influence. With influence comes asking for things the average person may not necessarily feel comfortable asking.
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something.
And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.”
I loved that while she asked, she also said it with full knowledge that if Jesus spoke it, her request would be fulfilled!
Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.”
Look at the confidence of John and James!
He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
She tried! 2 points for that!
It looks like this confidence rubbed off on James and John.
Jesus, knowing the nature of all of us, proclaimed this about the brothers.
James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder);
Boa-ner-gees
I wonder what Jesus would call me, do I want to know? Do you want to know?
John was very zealous and ambitious.
One of my favorite verses in John is when he is sure to let everyone know that when it came to the foot race to the tomb to see if Jesus was indeed no longer there, he points out that he beat Peter!
But, let’s look at another example from Luke.
And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
They were on their way to Jerusalem and went through a Samaritan village to get provisions and they were rejected.
James and John was like, cool, if that’s how they want to play this, Jesus you want us to go all Sodom and Gomorrah on them?
You give me the word we will do it!
Makes me think that if Jesus would have called John out onto the water, instead of Peter, he would have done cartwheels to Jesus!
Jesus rebukes the brothers and they continue on their way,
What else do we know about John?
We know that John was one of the closest disciples to Jesus, if not the closest. (We will explore that in a moment)
In Luke 10 we 70 disciples sent out on mission
We know that 12 of them were called to have a close relationship with Jesus
We see of that 12, 3 of them were in Jesus’s inner circle.
And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James.
Lastly we see that John was not academically trained, at least not from the outward appearance.
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.
When it came time to stand up and proclaim Christ, John was there with Peter and the crowd was astonished by their words.
So these are the things that we know about John with 100% certainly. As Scripture declares these things.
------------
Next, I want to share what believe with almost 100% certainty about John.
We believe John wrote this Gospel.
Now shouldn’t that be in the 100% certainty? Well no because John never names himself, only as the disciple with whom Jesus loved.
Church history is basically unanimous in accrediting this Gospel to John.
While we do not have 100% certainty through Scripture, we are very confident that John is indeed author and thus the disciple whom Jesus loved as written in the account in the third person.
This means that not only was John in the inner circle, but it would seem that John was Jesus’s best friend.
Not only did he go with certain areas that only John, James, and Peter went.
We see that at the Lord’s table it was John that sat beside Jesus and reclined against Jesus while Peter was on the other side.
One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side, so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking.
So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?”
Church history tells us that John is the author and also tells us that John was the disciple known by the High Priest.
This is where Jesus was questioned and it is why we were able to have a report of it.
We also see that this disciple was able to let Peter in as well, this is where Peter would deny Jesus 3 times.
Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest,
Remember John’s parents were of what could be said “upper-middle-class” and John had connections with the high priest.
We’ve now looked at John through the lens of Scripture that we are 100% certain of
Also through the lens of Church History that scholars are almost unanimous on
-------------
Lastly, with our unpacking of who is John, I’d like to share what is very likely to be true of John.
This next part is not explicit in Scripture, but, if you do some detective work, there is a good chance this too, could be true.
I believe Jesus is more than likely John’s 1st Cousin.
You don’t have to believe this, but let me show you why I think it is likely and how it makes other parts of the Gospel narrative make more sense.
Let’s take a look back at the crucifixion scene.
but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
We have 3 Mary’s here but we also have Mary’s sister or Jesus’s Aunt. Who is that?
Some say John is explaining that Mary’s sister is also Mary the wife of Clopas (Chlo-pus).
However, the way it is written in the greek, scholars do not believe John would have written it in this way.
Also would Mary’s father named two daughter’s Mary? Perhaps, but not likely.
Would it be overload to say Mary’s sister, and the wife of Clopas (Chlo-pus) in the same line? Perhaps, but again not likely.
More than likely, Mary’s sister, was someone else besides these three Mary’s. But who?
Let’s look at the next verse:
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!”
Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
That’s right, John was standing right there with them.
Who else was with the three Mary’s at the crucifixion that we saw earlier? Bingo, Salome (Sal-low-may).
Therefore I think it is a very strong argument that Salome (Sal-low-may) is Mary’s Sister
Thus Jesus’s aunt, which would make John His 1st Cousin.
This makes a lot more sense why John wasn’t some random disciple he was entrusting his mother with but it was his cousin, her nephew.
Therefore, it wouldn’t be strange and odd for him to care for her in his own home.
This also makes sense why John would have been so close to Jesus.
John would have known Jesus before he began his ministry and probably had a great relationship with him already, though it is assumed that John was much younger. Perhaps in his late teens at the start of Jesus’s ministry.
James and John being in the inner circle makes sense and then adding Peter to that circle rounds out the 3.
Well, why didn’t John just come right out and say that it was his mother?
John didn’t come right out and say he was the disciple that Jesus loved and thus did the same with his relationship with his mother.
John’s point wasn’t to puff himself up or make him the focus, but wanted to keep our eyes on Jesus.
------------------------
Now that we have given a fair amount of time to who our guide on this journey is and why he is 100% qualified to share this first hand information, let’s go back to our text for the day.
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Let’s Begin with this first line:
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;
Jesus did many other signs.
Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
These were not the only signs Jesus did, nor where they the greatest hits of the signs.
These were specifically chosen so that we would hear of them, and through hearing them, believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, and the Son of God.
These signs were picked out for one specific purpose. That you would believe.
John, through the Holy Spirit’s power and purpose, brought these back to John’s mind so that we would behold the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Next we see who witnessed these signs.
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;
Your faith can be strengthened because this is a first hand account.
Not only a first hand account but a first hand account of the one who was the closest to Jesus.
But it wasn’t just John who saw this, it was all of his disciples. We have accounts of Matthew the tax collector disciple, Mark the disciple of Peter, Luke the historian who was with Paul and interviewed many eye witnesses, and of course John.
These signs were not done in secret, they were not hidden, they were done in the presence of many but also in the presence of the disciples.
And these were just 7 written, there were countless other signs done.
but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
These 7 signs are given so that you would believe.
But what are you to believe? That Jesus is a Miracle worker? That He had supernatural talents?
No it is bigger than that.
So that you would believe He is the Christ! The Messiah, the one promised to come to Rescue, Ransom, Redeem, and Restore.
These signs point you not to the great things He did, but to point you to the greatness of who He is.
He is the Son of God! He is the God-Man, He is God in the Flesh, He is the second person of the Trinity.
John wrote this so that as you see the signs, as you hear the stories, as you marvel at the supernatural, you’ll see that Jesus is not of this world, because He created this world!
If you have seen Jesus, you have seen the Father! Not that Jesus is the Father, John 1:1 makes that clear, but Jesus is God.
We will look at John 1:1 next week in closer detail.
Now this is very important. This Gospel is abundantly clear.
This Gospel points to Jesus as the one who Created you and me.
This Gospel points out that Jesus and Jesus alone can save us physically and spiritually.
Eternal life and forgiveness of our rebellion is found in no one and nothing other than Jesus.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
You hear me say this all the time: Jesus is not a way, He is the way.
John makes this crystal clear.
But there is more:
We see the signs, we see the witnesses, we see that they point to and confirm that Jesus is the Son of God
But why does this matter? Because:
Believing this; you go from darkness to life
Believing in this you go from lost to found
Believing in this you go from aimless to purpose
Believing in this you go from meaningless to meaningful
Believing in this you go from alone to family
Believing in this ultimately takes you from death, to life.
but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
You become forgiven
You become adopted
You become family
You become saved.
What must you do to be saved? How is this yours? How do you seize this opportunity?
It costs something, it cost Jesus His life which we will find out more later in the Year.
But it cost Him his life and it requires the currency of faith from you.
How do I earn this faith? You can’t. But do not fret, this is good news.
Paul tells us in Ephesians it is a gift.
It is God himself that takes the accomplished work of Jesus and credits you with His sacrifice, the currency of faith and that currency is given to you to believe.
How do you know if you have this currency? Simple, do you believe? Do you?
Now I’m not asking if you believe He existed. Even the demons believe He is the Son of God.
Do you believe that He is not just a God, just the Son of God off in the distance, but that He is your God.
Do you believe that He is your Hope, that Jesus is your sacrifice.
Do you believe when He says, Come Follow Me? and you like John, get out of the boat, or wherever life has you, and wherever this day finds you, and you follow? Are you doing that? Do you want to do that?
There is no magic prayer. The sinner’s prayer? Friends, it is not in the Bible.
I actually abhor the sinner’s prayer? Why?
Because people say it 20 times every other week coming to the alter and not knowing if it worked or not.
Christianity is not mysticism and Christianity is not hoping you say that words just right so that this time it works.
Then what do we do?
It is thinking about what I have said about Jesus, and believing in Jesus.
If you say you believe in Jesus but care about your sins more than you do Jesus, then you do not believe, you do not have faith.
But if you are like the man in Mark 9:24 who falls to his knees and says “Jesus I believe, help me with my unbelief.”
If you say I am a sinner and I love my sin, but I need you more than I need my sin and I need your forgiveness, your grace, your mercy, more than I need even the air I breathe.
Then you have faith. You take this faith and you place it upon the only one who is worthy of this faith.
You place this faith that has been given you upon Jesus and your sins are washed away, your burden is lifted, you take the heavy yoke and replace it with the light yoke of Christ.
But what about repentance? Yes, there is repentance. Repentance is not what saves you but is the first fruit of your salvation.
Want to know if you are saved? Are you repenting? Are you asking for forgiveness of your sins? Are you turning from your sins and taking Christ?
Are you wrestling with, fighting against, waging war, upon your sins? This is a sign that you are found in Christ.
But you are saved, not because someone led you in a prayer and you repeated their words, but we are saved because you have a conviction of your sins and you know that your sins are not compatible with God because you now have the Holy Spirit in you.
You confess your sins, and turn from them, absolutely, You pray and tell God that you are placing his gift of faith in Him because He has opened your eyes that He is God and that He desires a relationship with you, 100%
We are saved by the Grace of God, through Faith, and both are a gift of God.
Does this speak of you. Is this your story. Is this your experience. Have you placed this gift of faith upon Jesus?
Do not delay. Do not put it off for one more moment.
I want to close with this. I want to take a moment to tell you what faith is not.
Biblical Christian Faith is not Blind Faith
I hear these two words so often and many times from Christians themselves.
Blind Faith is a concept that is foreign to Christianity
Blind faith does not exists side by side with Biblical Faith
Blind faith is the opposite of God given Faith
Blind faith is no faith at all and blind faith will send you to hell.
If you have blind faith, then you are not a Christian? Really? Why?
Because true, biblical, God given faith is not blind it is seen and it is experienced.
Biblical faith is the sure and certain truth that the Triune God created you, sustains you, rescued you, and repurposed you.
John is not writing these so that you can trust fall and hope that someone catches you. No
It is falling into the arms of Jesus because He has grabbed you and your eyes are open and you see clearly the reality of who God is, who you are, and you believe!
Stepping out in faith and hoping it works out is not faith, that is stupidity.
And I hear it far more than I would ever like to.
Has God shown you through His Word that He is God or has He not?
I’m not saying you walk out of here with a swagger because God opened your eyes, why? Because it was nothing about you. God caused you to believe so there is nothing you boast about.
Jonathon Edwards reminds us this: The only thing we bring to our Salvation is the sin the made it necessary.
So there is no boasting!
If you have never rebelled against God then there is nothing you need saved from. You don’t need a Savior. But there is none here that can say this truthfully.
John is not asking you to blindly believe.
John is saying to you, God exists and you know it!
The question is are you going to suppress this knowledge in unrighteousness as Romans 1 tells us and harden your heart to eternal damnation?
Or
Are you putting the gift of faith that you have recieved and placing it back upon the only one who is worthy of it?
John is saying Look! See! Believe! Have Life! I’ve given you an entire book that reveals to you who Jesus is.
Now you no longer have to have blind faith, but you can have a true and certain faith.
Our journey begins today. Our journey begins here.
John is telling us to see what he saw, to hear what heard, and to heed the same call that brought him out of the boat and will bring you out of where you are now and into eternity. So be it. Amen. Let us pray.