JESUS HONORED THE FATHER

Introduction

-Last week several of us went to the SBC Pastor’s Conference and the SBC proper. It was my first time, and I have to say that I enjoyed it.

{Although, at the Monday night Pastor’s Conference, JD Greear, the current president of the SBC, briefly highlighted the convention and described it as a 2-day business meeting which almost gave me a heart attack. But then during the convention he described it as a prayer meeting which had business mixed in which was a more apt description}

-My take from the convention was getting the convention, and the churches that make up the convention, back on the track of honoring God the Father through their ministry and service. And I saw this in several ways.

-First, the theme of the convention was GOSPEL ABOVE ALL, which focused on that which is most important for the convention and for churches themselves—getting the gospel out to those who need it. Instead of being sidetracked with minor issues and constant bickering, churches honor God the Father when they fulfill the commission God set for them.

-Second, over the past several years it was found that a small group of SBC churches covered up reports of abuse either by staff or others in the church. There was a large focus on repentance for allowing this to happen, and they laid out several initiatives to train churches on how to prevent and handle abuse cases, and took several steps in making ways to disfellowship any churches that do not take appropriate actions to prevent abuse or properly deal with abuse cases. Churches honor God the Father when they protect the vulnerable placed in their care.

~{On a side note, I want it known that since I have been called of God to be the shepherd of this particular flock, I will do everything in my power to protect my sheep. So, if there are any wolves out there who think they will get to one of my sheep, God has given me a rod and staff (so to speak) and I ain’t afraid to use them, so you better look out.}

-Third, the SBC is taking great strides toward racial reconciliation. The Kingdom of God is made up of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation, and therefore it is good in the sight of God that all races treat each other with respect for being made in the image of God. Churches honor God the Father when they honor all people regardless of their heritage, culture, or race.

~{And again, I want it known, that I have a dream of having a church that is multi-cultural, reflecting the community in which we find ourselves. And I also want it known that this church will not tolerate any prejudice or bigotry based on race. All people are welcome here no matter the color of your skin or the heritage from which you come.}

-These are but a few things that honor God the Father. And since it is Father’s Day, it is very appropriate to talk about honoring the ultimate Father, our God who sent His Son.

-And as I continue looking in the gospel of John, we find that in this interchange that Jesus is having with Jews (who at first said they believed in Him, but then turned on Him) that Jesus honored God the Father with His words and deeds.

-And what I want us to take away today is a deep desire to honor God the Father—even in the times when we are challenged, insulted, or persecuted.

John 8:48–59 ESV

48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

-Let’s consider three ways Jesus honored God the Father in this interchange, and then let’s consider our response so we too honor the Father.

I) Jesus honored the Father by giving Him the glory

-In v. 49 Jesus tells the Jews that He is going to honor God the Father; and in v. 50 one way He mentions is that He doesn’t seek to glorify Himself but to give glory to the Father who is also the Judge of all mankind.

-I want you to consider Isaiah 48:9-11 for a moment, where God says:

9 "For my name's sake I defer my anger; for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off.

10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.

11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.

-God reminds His people that everything that He does is for His own sake, for His own name, so that He alone gets the glory in everything because He will not share His glory with anybody else.

-Giving glory to God means to give Him praise, to proclaim His renown, and to recognize that He is distinct from anything else in existence. It is to hold God the Father in high esteem and to exalt His existence above everything else.

-Jesus’ life gave glory to God the Father by gladly submitting Himself to the will of the Father in spite of the fact that He Himself is God the Son. And the ultimate glory given to God the Father is through Jesus’ obedience unto death on the cross. Jesus glorified the Father by fulfilling the plan of the Father for bringing sinful, straying man back to Him. It is through this act that God receives praise and is held in high esteem.

-Therefore, we reflect we are God’s children when we glorify God in our life through our words and actions and choices. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:31:

31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

-The great classical musician Johann Sebastian Bach said, "All music should have no other end and aim than the glory of God … where this is not remembered there is no real music but only a devilish hub-bub."

He headed his compositions: "J. J." "Jesus Juva" which means "Jesus help me."

He ended them "S. D. G." "Soli Dei gratia" which means "To God alone the praise."

-That was Jesus’ attitude—Here is God the Son who for eternity shared the throne and fellowship within the Holy Trinity, who willingly gave it up so that the Father would receive the glory through His willing sacrifice.

-And you notice that in v. 54 Jesus reminds the Jews that if He would glorify Himself it would mean nothing, but the Father would glorify Him. Jesus glorified the Father through obedience, and the Father glorified Jesus back by giving Him the name above all other names and through the eventual bending of the knee of submission by all of creation to King Jesus—the Glorifier of God.

II) Jesus honored the Father by giving a clear gospel message

-Jesus, for a few chapters now, had been telling the Jews who He was and why He was here. Finally, He summed it up in v. 51:

IF ANYONE KEEPS MY WORD HE WILL NEVER SEE DEATH

~But what is this WORD that He is talking about?

-Jesus is talking about the Word of the gospel that He had been sharing throughout His ministry. And what Word is that? Even just in the gospel of John Jesus gave the Word of the gospel. Look and listen to His gospel message:

~Jesus told Nicodemus:

Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (Jn. 3:3 ESV)

~Jesus then later told him:

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. (Jn. 3:14-19 ESV)

-And we could go on and on by showing how Jesus pointed out He is the Bread of Life and is the Light of the World. But Jesus gave them the Word of the gospel, and that gospel presentation honored God the Father.

-There is a story about German pastor, Martin Niemoeller, who was thrown in prison by the Nazi regime for publicly crying out against the atrocities that they committed. But he was one of the lucky few who were eventually released from prison instead of executed. When the time came, newspaper reporters rushed to see him after his release from prison so that they might get some juicy words to print in their newspaper. Instead, they heard a stirring Gospel message and one reporter was heard to say: “Six years in a Nazi prison camp and all he has got to talk about is Jesus Christ.”

~That’s right, that’s all he talked about because that is what honors God

-Jesus could have impressed the Jews with miracles. Jesus could have pandered to the crowd by telling them how much God wants them to prosper. Jesus could have roused the crowd by decrying the actions of the Roman Empire. But instead, He pointed to Himself and gave them the gospel message. And that message honored the Father above all else.

III) Jesus honored the Father by proclaiming truth in the face of opposition

-After Jesus told them that those who follow His Word would not see death, they assumed that He was speaking of physical death—they did not think in terms of spiritual death.

~So, they start to argue with Jesus and oppose what it is that He is teaching.

-But, the more hostile the crowd became, the more Jesus stood His ground in telling them the truth—even when they didn’t want to accept the truth or hear the truth.

-So, finally, Jesus tells them straight up who He is.

~They’d been arguing that Jesus couldn’t be greater than Abraham who died. And Jesus tells them something that finally puts them over the edge.

~Jesus tells them: BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS, I AM—that phrase does not sound like much in English, but the Jews knew exactly what Jesus was claiming for Himself.

-In Exodus 3, when Moses asks God who he should say sent him to the Jews, he asks God for a name to give them; look at God’s answer in Exodus 3:14

God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" (Exod. 3:14 ESV)

-So now, with that in mind, Jesus answers these Jews:

Before Abraham was, I AM. There is no doubt that Jesus is claiming to be the I AM of Exodus 3. Jesus is claiming to be God. And the Jews know it, so they seek to kill Him for blasphemy.

-Now, if Jesus wanted a big crowd to follow Him, or if His concern was with popularity, He could have just left well enough alone and watered the message down and not give them the whole truth. But Jesus had no concern about that.

-No matter their reaction, no matter how they felt, no matter how offended they might have become, Jesus gave them the truth. They didn’t accept it or like it, but Jesus never backed down from claiming the truth—HE IS GOD! HE IS SAVIOR! HE IS LORD! BELIEVE IN HIM!

-Truth is no longer a virtue in our day and age. People think they can make up their own truth. The problem is that making up your own truth in life doesn’t help you. Submitting yourself to what actually exists is what helps you.

-There might be a glass of poison on a countertop, and you could try to create your own truth by stating that your truth is that it is a glass of sweet tea. That might be your truth, but your own personal truth doesn’t change reality. When you drink the contents of that glass it is poison no matter what you might think to the contrary.

-It would have done a lost world no good for Jesus to hide the truth of who He is. They needed God to save them, and God came to save them. If they couldn’t accept that truth, then they were lost in their sins. But they could never complain that Jesus didn’t tell them the truth of His identity and actions.

-That is how Jesus honored God the Father. He gave God all the glory, He gave a clear gospel message, and He never backed down from proclaiming the truth.

-So, on this Father’s Day, what can we do in response to what Jesus did to honor the Father?

OUR RESPONSE:

(1) Honor the Father by accepting the gospel

-There is no other way to get out of the penalty and power of sin other than repent of your sins and believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for you.

-It actually dishonors the Father by trying to get to Him and to heaven in some other way. God the Father sacrificed His own Son—the heaviest price that could have been paid. Would He have given His Son if there were any other way? It’s a proverbial slap to God’s face to think that you can be saved from your sins in some other fashion.

-So, what is it that you are trusting to get to heaven? What is it you are trusting to get to God...

(2) Honor the Father by living the gospel

-James tells us that faith without works is dead, and Jesus tells us that we know people by their fruits. If you have accepted the gospel, then you live out the gospel.

-When you trusted in Christ you were made new, and by the Holy Spirit within you, you can live like you are new. But it is a choice to work in cooperation with the Spirit.

(3) Honor the Father by proclaiming the gospel

-We have been given a Great Commission of going and making disciples, teaching them everything Christ commanded us. We have been given power by the Holy Spirit to be witnesses in our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.

-If I knew what the cure to cancer was, it would be a crime for me to keep silent about it and not share it with the world. We have the cure to something even worse than cancer, we have the cure for sin and death itself. Why would we keep silent? Proclaim the gospel message to others.

Conclusion

-I close with this thought: one of the top 10 commandments is to honor father and mother, but how much more are we to honor our heavenly Father. Jesus did so. We can do so as well. What will do to honor the Father today?