It Is Finished w1: Whom Do You Seek?
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Introduction
Introduction
Whats up friends! Welcome back to NXT High School. My name is Matt Velasco, if we have not met I want you to know that I am so glad that you are here and would love to meet you before you leave tonight! You’ll hear and see that we say something around these parts, we say that Wednesday night, tonight, is the best night of the week. And we firmly believe it. Not just because you get to hangout with friends and have free dinner and a ton of fun, but also because God has a funny way of showing up in special ways on Wednesday nights here at NXT.
So, if you’re new, thanks for being here! We hope you love it and I want to personally invite you to come back next week.
At the beginning of the year we kicked off with a yearly theme and a first series both titled, “Jesus said.” Now, if you’ve joined us halfway through the year or have totally forgotten about this theme then let me catch you up to speed and remind you: Essentially, this year has been all about talking about specific things that Jesus said. Through each series we have highlighted the words of Jesus and their implications for your life.
And here we are, at the end of yet another school year getting ready to launch some of you into college or whatever is after High School for you. My prayer is that through NXT, this year, you have fallen deeper in love with Jesus and grown in your knowledge of who He is.
Tonight we’re going to kick off our final series of the year and perhaps even our most important one: It is Finished. We’re going to talk about the implications of this 3 word sentence for you whether you’ll be back next year or somewhere else. This is the climax of the whole entire year… the arrest, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Allow me to be candid about my heart behind this series. The statistics are not in your favor, seniors. If they are correct, then many of you will have stopped following Jesus by the time this time next year rolls around. But there is someone who is more powerful than any statistic, and His name is Jesus. My aim for the next 4 weeks is to lean in closely with each of you, but especially those of you who won’t be with us next year, and plead with you to know who this man named Jesus is. To plead with you to give your life to Him and trust Him to lead you as you leave High School. To plead with you to trust in His life, His death, and His resurrection.
Text Address
Text Address
And so with that being said, I’m going to have you open up to John 18:1-11,
When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.” Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”
Content
Content
Set Up
Set Up
Jesus, fully God, willingly and knowingly puts His life in the hands of evil men ready to falsely accuse and murder Him.
We see in this garden encounter some of the richest symbolism in the whole of scripture. God in his creative genius placed His son in the midst of the Garden of Gethsemane so that we would see the comparison to the Garden of Eden.
In Eden Adam sinned. In Gethsemane Jesus overcame sin.
In Eden Adam fell. In Gethsemane Jesus conquered.
In Eden Adam hid himself. In Gethsemane Jesus boldly presented himself.
In Eden the sword was drawn. In Gethsemane it was sheathed.
This symbolism is not accidental or incidental to Jesus’ death. It was an assurance for future generations that Christ was in control.
The gravity of Jesus’ arrest shows us the love and power of God in one simple story, ultimately leaving Jesus asking us the very question he asked in this garden...“whom do you seek?”
Let me ask you this… do you know who you seek? Or more acutely, do you have a right understand of who Jesus is?
What I love about the Biblical author John is how ruthlessly he defends in his Gospel account the Godhood or the divinity of Jesus Christ. There is an important thing to see in the scripture that we read, take a look at verses 4-6,
Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
I am he. What does this mean? Well, if we go back in our Bibles to Exodus when Moses is sent to the enslaved Israelites in Egypt. He meets God in a burning bush and is told this,
And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
Of course Moses, who is perhaps the most unqualified of the unqualified to lead God’s people. In fact, he had such a hard time talking because of a speech impediment that his brother Aaron had to speak on his behalf. Moses said this to God later in the story,
But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?”
Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country.
Moses is saying, “God, I have a stutter! How could they listen to me!” and yet God was sending him anyways. Back in chapter 3 Moses responds to God’s commands to free His people and asks them this,
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
Moses had no authority. And he knew it. In fact, Moses had run from Egypt because he had murdered someone.
Friends, Moses was nothing and no one special. What made Moses special was the One who sent him.
Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 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.’ ”
Please bare with me for a moment and allow me to dig into the meaning of this name “I Am.” because I think it can greatly impact your faith.
The Hebrew word for “I AM” is ‘eyeh which, due to the peculiarities of Hebrew grammatical structure actually has three meanings.
I Am
I Was
I Will Be
God when He is speaking to Moses isn’t just saying His name, He’s saying what He is. He’s telling moses that He is, He was, and He will be.
God continues in verse 14,
God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
If you’ve been around Church for a little bit you probably know God by this name. You heard me say that the Hebrew for I Am is ‘eyeh. But more accurately pronounced in english is Yahweh. God is Yahweh, the I Am, the I was, and the I will be.
Now, why am I brining you from John 18 all the way back to Exodus 3? Because that same I Am is the I Am who stood in the Garden being arrested. Again, it says,
Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
Jesus is God. He is the I am. He is the I was. And He is the I Will Be.
John obsessed over Jesus being the I AM. In fact, John’s Gospel is built around the “7 I Am statements of Jesus”
He says in John 6:35,
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
and in John 8:12,
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
When Jesus asked the guards who they were seeking, and He answered “I am he” they didn’t fall to the ground out of fear or because of Jesus’ tone. They fell because they were standing against God Himself. A God who had taken on flesh and dwelt among His people. A God who was freely giving Himself up to be sacrificed for the sins of the world and all those who would believe in Him. A God who while dying on the cross proclaimed “It is finished” for you and for me, if we believe.
Jesus is asking you, whom do you seek?
Do you seek a Jesus who is just a moral teacher? Because you won’t find Him.
Do you seek a Jesus who is just a vending machine who will give you what you want? You won’t find Him.
Do you seek a Jesus who is the I am, I was, and I will be? Because just like He was present with Moses in the burning bush, and present with the guards in the Garden of Gethsemane, and present with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, so also is He present with you right here and right now - Because He, Jesus, is the I Am, the I was, and the I will be.
Who do you say Jesus is?
I say that Jesus is God. A God who came to bring us freedom and liberty from sin. This might be news for you, but you are being held captive. You are chained and shackled by sin. And there is only One who can free you from those chains and shackles and He is Jesus, who is God. A God who wants to set us free if we believe in Him. Listen to who Jesus says He is. Not who the world says Jesus is. Or who you have thought Jesus is. Listen to who Jesus says He is…
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Thats who Jesus is. I don’t know what has happened in your past that might lead you to a place of wanting nothing to do with Him. Maybe you were hurt, lied to, abused, or manipulated by someone who claims Jesus’ name and because of it you see him or her whenever you hear about Jesus. But let me just say first of all, I’m sorry for how Christians may have treated you. Whether you’re a skeptic, gay, trans, male, female, black, white, fill in the blank. I am sorry. But Jesus is not those men or women. The I Am is not those men or women. Jesus is life, light, love, peace, joy, gentleness, salvation, and God. Jesus is worth it. Belief in Jesus is worth it. According to Jesus, you were worth it.
Worth coming from Heaven to earth and living life without a single sin. Never lying, never cheating, never lusting, never being self-righteous, never making someone feel hated. Never a single sin. All so that He could be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane after being betrayed by a friend. So that He could be falsely accused and hung on an ancient cross which was meant for criminals and dying what historians call the most inhuman and hateful deaths one can die. Dying so that He could pay the price of your sins. All of your lying, cheating, lusting, self-righteousness, and hatred. All of your sins, even the ones only you know about. Jesus knew of all of your sins before He went to the cross. He knew your rebellion, and the hurt you would receive because of someone else’s. And He purchased for you on the cross freedom from sin, and liberty from your captivity to it. And after dying for your sins He rose again from the grave three days later so that you could not just have freedom, but life in Christ through his resurrection.
THAT is who Jesus is. And you can receive that freedom and liberty if you simply do what Romans 10:9 says,
Romans 10:9 (ESV)
if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Im gonna ask everybody bow heads close eyes . If tonight, the good news of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection made sense to you for the first time, If you do not know Jesus you can tonight by simply confessing Jesus as Lord, praying along with me, and truly believe in your heart God raised him from the dead.
“Dear God, I know that I mess up, I fall short of your perfect standard. But I believe that Jesus died for me. I believe he paid the price for my sin. I believe Jesus rose from the dead. And I trust in Jesus alone to forgive me for all my sins and give me life, Fullness of LIFE. Amen”
Heads still bowed, eyes closed….If you prayed that prayer…You put your faith in Jesus tonight ….in just a moment Im going to have you look up at me…no one else looking around
Looking up doesn’t save you
Saying a prayer doesn’t save you
Jesus Christ alone, and your faith in Him is what saves you, but I would love to pray for you
So with no one looking around, and you just prayed that prayer, on the count of three would would look up at me
One – Looking up doesn’t save you
Two – Placing faith trust in Jesus is what save
Three – Look up now
Keep looking
Okay you can bow heads again (those looking up)
Lets pray.