The Book of John Weekend Message Final

May is about to bite the dust everybody! It’s 6 months till Christmas! Well, at least until the month that Christmas is in. Hope you have nailed your New Year’s Resolutions.

That also means that we are in our last message on John. People have been telling me they are loving it. Admittedly people are not going to tell me if they’re not, because, who is going to tell their pastor that they hate the bible. The midweek studies will stay up on YouTube, the daily devotions will still be linked to the website, so if you fell behind, or your connect is only fortnightly, no hassle, you can still access all of that, to ensure that you get the most out of the book of John.

This morning, I am going to try to bring this baby home, so let’s start with a few verses, and then we’ll pray.

John 1:2-3

He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.

John 1:29

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

John 3:14b-17

the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. 16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

Let’s pray. Lord, please grab a hold of our hearts. If there is anything that we need to hear, let us have ears to hear it. If there is anything we need to see, give us eyes to see it. Please let our hearts be soft, humble and receptive before your word this morning, in Jesus’ name.

The title of the message today is: Worst. Message. Ever. Worst message ever. I anticipate this being one of the least celebrated messages I ever preach. And yet, I feel compelled to preach it, even sum up the series with it. So here we go with the worst message ever.

My takeaway from the book of John, what I see stated at the start, threaded throughout, culminating at the end, is that Jesus came to die. The whole point of His exercise of dwelling among us was to die for us. He came to lay His own life down. It wasn’t taken from Him, He gave it freely.

John 10:18 No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily.

It was stated from the start – here is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. When we hear lamb, we might think of Sean the Sheep, or Mary, who had a little one, but when you put lamb and sin in the same sentence to a 1st century audience, they immediately think sacrifice. Threaded throughout he tells them that he is laying His life down.

Jesus talked constantly of being glorified, and this was Him dying.

But then, at the end of the book, before and after His death, He asks us to do the same. And this is the worst message ever. The Christian life is only possible if you lay your life down.

I saw your face, teenager, I saw it, the expression said…well that sucks! And yes it does. I warned you. Worst message ever. You might be thinking, no, no, Bron, no, John 10:10 I have come that you might have life, and have it to the full! Yeah, NLT is even better: The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. I believe he goes on to clarify what that rich and satisfying life is in verse 28, speaking of those that follow Him: 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.

It's eternal life, life that doesn’t end, and it’s life IN HIM. If you thought that this Christian life meant a good life as you would define it, you’ve already been disappointed, or disillusioned, or depressed, or disgruntled. No, it’s a full life as Jesus defines it.

The Christian life is only possible if you lay your life down. So my question is, how are you going to die today? Is there anything you need to die to?

By John 13, Jesus has withdrawn completely from public ministry. He is spending the last chapters of the book with His disciples, and He gets really clear with them about what life needs to look like from here on in. The first thing He does to set all this up is wash their feet. He strips all the way down, some scholars say, to a loin cloth, so He appears as a humble slave before them, and takes the towel to wash their feet. At dinner, as they are around the table, as Jesus lets them know He’s leaving, Peter states where he believes he is up to. John 13:36-38

36 Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?”

And Jesus replied, “You can’t go with me now, but you will follow me later.”

37 “But why can’t I come now, Lord?” he asked. “I’m ready to die for you.”

38 Jesus answered, “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.

It’s what happens. He sure does. All the disciples leave Him, in fact. Jesus dies, and as He said He would all along, He raises to life again, and before returning home so the Holy Spirit can continue the work through people…come talk to me after if you need that explained…He talks to the disciples on the beach. John 21:15-19

15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”

“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.

16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”

“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.

17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.

18 “I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”

I imagine Peter, this moment he gets to have alone with Jesus. There’s so much he would have on his mind to say, to try to explain, and the shame he would have been grappling with. Jesus repudiates the three denials with the three affirmations and commissions him. He lets him know that he will die in his service to God, and says follow me.

In the first instance, Jesus tells him Peter, you aren’t able to follow me. Here He commands him to do so.

Are you Peter at the table? You’d love to follow Jesus to the ends of the earth, but if it gets difficult, you’ll cut and run?

Are you Peter at the beach? Confronted with your imminent, inevitable, painful and lonely death, you are committed to laying your life down.

John 9:22 up behind. His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue.

There are many in the book of John who were Peter at the table. The man who had been blind from birth was healed, and his parents, who should have been overjoyed in gratitude, are guarded in their answers because if they spoke out the truth, they risked being put out of the synagogue, losing some friends, their social standing, and their comfort.

John 12:42 up behind. Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue.

Those who had put their faith in Jesus, but cared more about what people thought than what God thought, and so were unable to follow where He was going.

John 6:60, 66 up behind. 60 Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?” … 66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him.

There were those who couldn’t follow anymore once Jesus said things that they couldn’t understand. They let their level of understanding determine their level of faith and trust.

John 16:32 up behind

32 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me.

All of the disciples scattered, their fear stopping them from following Jesus.

Where is your level? Dan Moore was telling me once about his suspicion at the number of leadership books there are. He’s like, another day, another leadership book. If everybody is leading, who is getting stuff done? Don’t people realise that it’s way more important to tuck in and follow, so that we can actually make things work? Where are all the books about following? I found them Dan. These books, the books about following Jesus, they are about laying your life down.

So where is our level? Where do we no longer want to follow? Is it when fear comes, like the disciples? Is it when we don’t understand, like the other disciples? Is it when we face the loss of approval, like those in the synagogue? Is it when things will get uncomfortable, like the parents of the blind man?

And yet, Jesus makes it clear that He is into second chances, in a really big way. After cooking them breakfast on the beach, he gets about giving them another crack. But again He is truly up front with it – Peter, you will die.

All the miracles, the I AM statements, they must all be seen in the light of the overarching picture! I am here to lay my life down. Disciples – you must do the same. Sandwiched between washing their feet and going to the cross, in one conversation, are such words as: John 15

20b Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you.

John 16:

“I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith. 2 For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God.

Jack Hanes puts it like this:

Today is a good day to die. It’s a good day to die to the flesh, to the world, to myself and to take up my cross and follow Him.

Paul puts it like this:

I die daily.

Jesus puts it like this:

12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

(John 15)

We are meant to lay our lives down, and Jesus says that it happens best in the context of community. You have a whole lot more to die to when the more people you have around you. Anyone live with anyone else? You know what I am talking about.

I would like to give you a controversial example of this in action. When the same sex plebiscite was taking place, my friend who was in a same sex relationship stopped coming to church. I called him and asked him for coffee. We had, at the time, put out a statement to the church and asked them to vote no. Even though we believed the ship had well and truly sailed on the type of marriage Jesus talked about in society, we saw the trajectory of the other legislation that was trying to be passed, as it related to education, at that time particularly in Victoria, and thought a strong united conservative voice could be helpful to that. SO. I asked him to coffee, and this guy is one of my best friends, I love him so much. I said to him, hey, as a church we’ve put out this statement, and I didn’t want you to hear about it from someone else, because you haven’t been at church so you would have heard it from us. I read it out to him, and then said, how do you feel about that? He started crying, and said, I feel judged, I feel rejected, I feel outcast. I feel like I can’t come back to church. Now, if you came in here carrying a placard today, I anticipate that your reaction is good! Nor should he! He should be… whatever, whatever. However, him having heard that rhetoric from Christians his whole life, I preferred him to be in a place of love, to sit and hear the word of God, which I truly unequivocally believe does change us from the inside out, because it has me. So I said to him – hey, do you reckon there are many same sex attracted people out there, who are really curious about God and faith? Yes, of course. Do you reckon that they would be feeling similarly judged? Yes, most definitely. And previously, when you were coming to church, do you reckon that they would look at that and think, hey, there’s a place I might be able to go and hear about God? He was like yes, they told me they would come. And I said, so, if you don’t come, what do you think they’ll do? And he said, they’ll assume there’s no place for them. I said, I get you feel judged, and awful, but do you reckon you could keep coming anyway, for them? He was like, yes, absolutely, I can come for them. When pointed to a bigger purpose and picture he was able to put his own pain aside.

So I wonder…now with death so accessible with voluntary assisted dying laws, and rates and what not, could it be that we are so willing to give up on life because we have nothing to die for?

Laying down our life. Living for others. Giving our life for others. Having been established by Jesus, it then pervades the New Testament.

1 John 3:16

Ephesians 5:21 and this plays out in a marriage relationship. Wives submit to your husbands. Now at that time, that was standard day to day life, but it’s not now. I’m hesitant to mention it because we know that husbands have misused it in the past to lord it over their wives, we know that studies show that in a traditional denomination in our nation, rates of DV are higher than among non-Christians. But I have to acknowledge in my own life, I find it incredibly difficult to submit to my husband. I have to die daily. And if he were here, he would tell you he finds it very hard to lay down his life for me, and in order to do so, he has to die daily. In fact, I asked him to be here, and he ignored me, blew me off, so he failed today.

You show me a movie about sacrifice, I’m there. I’m taking the hill, I’m getting shot down so that people can keep going. I’m going back to put Lieutenant Dan on my shoulders and race him back to safety. I am Private Desmond Doss on Hacksaw Ridge, I’m up on the table with William Wallace getting hung, drawn and quartered, yelling out freedom…but the truth is, laying down your life is not so glorious. It’s unglamourous gloriousness.

Often, laying down your life looks menial, mundane, and meaningless. It’s getting up tomorrow and dying again. It’s a whole lot of “you’ve got this haven’t you God?”

So just 3 thoughts at the end of the worst message ever.

We are called to give our lives for people. In John 2, it says that Jesus didn’t give Himself to them, because He knew their hearts. Jesus knows we are dust, it’s how He copes with us, and is so longsuffering with us. You can give your life for others, and they can shoot you down the next day, and that’s ok. You give your life TO Jesus, and give it for others.

Though none go with me, yet still I’ll follow. What pulled people back in the book of John, was what people might think or do or say to them. We need to get a relentless “though none go with me, yet still I’ll follow” mindset. Church and the gospel thrive in environments of persecution. There’s something about evidence of something so compelling that people are willing to die, that causes people to stand up and notice. Particularly when people do it joyfully. That’s how the church spread. That’s how the underground church is spreading. Silly Chinese government: they should just let everybody get affluent and comfortable, and then the church would die a natural death.

Though it can look menial, mundane, or meaningless, get up tomorrow and die again.