Sermon
John: An Invitation to Believe
February 19-20, 2000
Pastor Donald Sheley  

I'm going to ask you to take your Bible. If you're using the pew Bible the page is 713, and this morning we commence our new series on the Gospel of John. Let's pray. Father, open our hearts and our minds and may Your precious Spirit the our teacher, in Jesus' name, amen.

For some months last year I had anticipated that this year we would do a series in the Old Testament on the book of Isaiah, but recognizing that God was doing many things within our congregation that maybe it might be well to take that idea and set it aside momentarily. Two Sunday's ago in our services we had 400 more in church this year then we did last year. It simply means that people are coming and God is saving, and lives are being changed at almost every service. It's a marvelous thing and people are being baptized at almost every service. So as your pastor I felt it imperative that we take a subject that will help many of these new people foundation themselves in the Christian faith, so they'll understand the basics of what we believe, and there's no greater portion of the scripture that I think of that would help us to do that than the gospel of belief, the Gospel of John. And so for the next number of months we're going to be in this gospel and we'll be doing two things during this time we'll be preparing and finishing our devotional commentary on the Gospel of John. Over the years I've written a commentary. It has over 300 pages and we're continuing to work on that, and the notes that you have are basically the notes that come from the commentary that's in preparation. And we'll not have the time to go through all of these notes because they are quite comprehensive, but they're better reading than the Examiner for lunch today. And it gives you something to sit around the table as a family and as you study with me you'll have a greater grasp of the background and some of the details of this marvelous gospel of belief.

So in your Bible turn with me to pages 713 or John's Gospel chapter 1, and I'm going to read for you what is called in most Bible the prologue, it's the first 18 verses, and here's what it says, and our choir sang it so beautifully. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. What did John mean by that? Well in the Greek it's a very, very simple phrase, the light, the darkness could not put out the light. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.'" And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

It's a massive amount of theology in a very short number of verses. And John's going to spend the rest of his gospel explaining that theology. He has a purpose in his writing. It's very clear. Go with me to the last part of the gospel. Go with me to John 20:30 and John will tell us exactly why he's writing this gospel. It is not a chronological history of the ministry of Jesus. John has a different purpose. He's not there to write a history. John is most likely in his 80s or his 90s when he takes up pen to write this glorious gospel, and he was a contemporary of Jesus. He walked with Jesus. He was part of His disciples, but Jesus has been gone for 50 years. John has had 50 years of memory, looking back over those experiences that marked his mind and his character. He comes to the closing years of his life and he pens for us, because he knew that into the church already false doctrines were making their way. And John was deeply concerned as an old man. He wanted to make sure the doctrine of the church was kept perfect, and thus, he writes verse 30: And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. John said I have a reason. I want you to put your trust in Jesus Christ, and what I've done is I have taken His life and I have selected seven different events, seven different happenings in the life of Christ which I'll call signs in which He does. And he said I'm going to take those signs. He said there's a whole lot more, but these signs should be sufficient to hold your hearts steady and keep the doctrine clear so that your belief is really the belief of Christ.

Now John has a deep love for Christ, and his love absolutely pervades this gospel. In this first passage, in this prologue, you might write it out in the side of your Bible, John presents Jesus in six different ways, ways to view the Christ. Let me give them to you: verses 1 through 3, John presents Jesus as the eternal Christ, the eternal Christ. Verses 4 and 5, the incarnate Christ. Use a pastor, what's that mean? Well when we speak of the incarnate Christ or the incarnation, we're speaking of that event when God came to this world and took upon Himself the form of man in the person of Christ. It's God taking on human form. God living His life in person, living life through Christ so that we might identify and know God in the person of Christ. So the incarnation is God taking human form in the person of Jesus and living in our world. Then in verses 6 through 8 we have the forerunner of Christ. John's going to introduce us to John the Baptist who introduced Jesus in His public ministry. It was John the Baptist who was out baptizing, and we'll read about that in a few weeks in the gospels where Jesus approaches John to be baptized. So we have the forerunner of Christ. Now verses 9 through 11, we have the unrecognized Christ. And I think of all the verses of this glorious gospel, probably the saddest is that of verse 11: He came to His own, but His own had nothing to do with Him, received Him not. What a tragic, tragic mark on human history. Jesus came to His own and they arranged for His hanging. Verses 12 through 13, we have the omnipotent Christ, the all-powerful, omni - all, potent - power, the all-powerful Christ. And then verses 14 through 18, John presents the glory of Christ.

Now it would be wise I think for us in our first time together to get a little acquainted, better acquainted with the gospel. You'll note first of all, if we had time to read it all the way through, there is a vast difference between the first three gospels and John. So much of what John leaves out amazes us and what he puts in also amazes us. And again, he did this because he followed his purpose. I want to give events, occasions that happened in the life of Christ that if you'll believe these, you'll believe in His Saviourhood.

Now let's start first of all with the author. Who is this John? Let's take our supplemental information for our introduction, and let's go to page 2, and let's get acquainted with John, shall we? The man who wrote the gospel we're now studying. It says concerning the author...John, the Son of Zebedee...one of the apostles of Christ. Now I'm aware that in the field of theology there are some who might disagree, but basically most Evangelical scholars will hold to that statement. John, the Son of Zebedee, was the writer and second most prominent member of the 12, John, the Son of Zebedee was one of the most remembered as witnessed in literature, and in art, and tradition and archeology. The record of the first three gospels states that John had a brother whose name was James and a father whose name was Zebedee, a fisherman residing near Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee. Now John most likely grew up in a fairly wealthy home because in the days of Jesus if you had boats, fishing boats, and you hired slaves you were in the upper echelon of the economic stratum of society. You were wealthy and thus, Zebedee was John's father, and he was likely a very wise and a very, very effective businessman, very successful. And so he's a fisherman, they live in Capernaum down on the Sea of Galilee, and the mother of John is believed to be Salome. Now this is inferred from a comparison of Mark 16:1 and Matthew 27:56. And the third woman accompanying the two women to the tomb is called Salome by both Mark and by Matthew, and they very clearly say that she was the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

In John 19:25, the third woman at the cross is said to be the sister of Jesus' mother, hence Jesus and John would be first cousins. John was a convert of John the Baptist and spent some time with the proclaimer of the new covenant in the Jordan Valley. And then it was here that he met Jesus. It was on that day when John looks out across his crowd and Jesus is there, and he says, Behold, the Lamb of God. John was in that crowd and it was here that he met Jesus and he transferred his allegiance from John the Baptist to Jesus. Now sometime after this, when John and his brother James had resumed fishing, they again encountered Jesus by the Sea of Galilee and at once decided to become His disciple, a follower, and we give the scripture verses that indicate that historic event.

Now in character John was clearly a turbulent and ambitious man. Now if there are typographical errors, I made them. So don't blame my secretary. That should be ambitious. John was clearly a turbulent and ambitious man, and Jesus gave to him and his brother the name BOANERGES, which in the gospel writers means SONS OF THUNDER. It's just like we would call our little one, he's a ball of mischief. Jesus said these men are turbulent. They're just like thunder so He named them the Sons of Thunder.

And that, of course, personality comes out. If we went to Luke 9:49 we'd read of the occasion where Jesus is making His way back to Jerusalem and He makes the decision to go through Samaria. Now most Jews would not have done that. Because for centuries the Jews and the Samaritans didn't speak to each other. Way back in the days of Nehemiah when the wall was being built and there was a cleavage that took place and historical events that separated the people of Samaria, which was just a few miles north of Jerusalem, just a small area. But they didn't want anything to do with the Jews and the Jews bypassed them. So if you're going to go up to Damascus or you're going to go north to the North Sea, you'd cross over Jordan and follow-up the eastern route, because here's Samaria and then you'd cut back in. You just, you didn't venture in. But Jesus decides I'm going to go through Samaria. I'm going to head back for Jerusalem. Well when He arrives in the Samaritan village He's rejected. They didn't want this Jew coming through their city. And so John is disturbed because his master is rejected and mocked at, and John said Jesus, if you want I could call down fire from heaven. Just like Elijah, we can wipe out all these people. I mean let's just take care of them. Get them out of the way. He was reactive and he was violent at times. You say why do you emphasize this? Because you're going to watch a man in his relationship with Christ come to tenderness and come to love.

You see I understand turbulent personalities. My father was six-foot five or six, 280 pounds of total anger. My father time and time again could pick up furniture and throw it clear across and just break tables and chairs into pieces. I've watched him. And then one day, he went to church and there he heard about Jesus, and he gave his life to Christ. And I watched a man as I grew up in his home fall in love with Jesus, and Jesus turned him into a very tender, very gracious man. In fact, when you went to my home in the latter days of my father's life as he was dying from cancer, he was so gracious and so loving. He was totally different than the man that Jesus saved. John, he was ambitious. He learned that from his mom, which is not bad, which is good. Many of my wonderful characteristics, many of my traits we take from our family. But it was John and James' mother that walked up to Jesus and said Jesus, I've got a request that I'd like to ask of You. What is it? Well when You come into Your kingdom, I want my son one to sit on this side of You, and I want my other son to sit on that side of You. Now you can understand why those boys were ambitious.

But John becomes the one who is loved very much by Jesus. In fact, when they come to the Last Supper, who is it that's closest to Him? Close enough lying on His breast to say, Jesus, who is he? And Jesus said it's the one to whom I hand this off to. That's how close he was to Jesus. It was John who was at the cross and Jesus is hanging there in the closing moments and He said, John, behold your mother; and mother, behold your son. He loved John so much that He turned over the care of Mary to him, and historians suggest that John took Mary to Ephesus where he became the pastor of the church at Ephesus. And it was in Ephesus that most likely Mary died.

Now John also had much to do with our New Testament. You see, Paul wrote most of the epistles, but when you look at the new Testament John wrote his gospel then he wrote his three epistles, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John. Now 2 John and 3 John are just one chapter each, and 1 John is only about 5 chapters long, but they are small letters. He wrote those and then it was this John who was banished because he preached on the western coast of Turkey in the city of Ephesus. Under persecution they banished him out into the Aegean Sea on the isle of Patmos and it was there that he wrote the book of Revelation, the Apocalypse. So when you look at it John wrote a good portion of our New Testament. And in your notes, I'm on page 3 now, I'm down at the bottom in a paragraph that says a question that often appears in theological writings is this: Was the Fourth Gospel written before or after John's banishment to Patmos? Now not all will agreed with this answer, but many writers and students of the Bible suggest that the Fourth Gospel was written before his banishment to Patmos, that the composition of this book was followed by the Epistles; and that the Apocalypse came last. And perhaps this would seem to be the natural and logical order of John's writings and as to the date of the writing. Most will agreed that it was between the years of 80 and 96. So you can see that John was a contemporary of Jesus. Jesus has been gone for 50 years back to heaven before John writes.

What I'd like for you to do is take your Bible and let's go to John's letter because you're going to see that violent disruptive personality mellowed by time and by relationship with Jesus that changed him. It's beautiful. This is known as the letter of love. He begins it with these words. I'm at page 819 in your red Bible, if you'd like to turn there, 819. We're reading some of John's writings. He writes that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life. John is looking back with tenderness to those moments that they were together on the hillside eating food together. He said I've looked upon Him. In fact, my hands have handled Him. He was the Word of life, and that life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us. That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and that truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. Catch the tenderness?

Look at verse 7 of chapter 2. Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. He likes that phrase doesn't he? In his gospel, in the beginning? In his letter, from the beginning. Verse 7, a commandment from the beginning. The old commandment is the Word which you have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in light, and there is no cause for stumbling in Him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Chapter 3; Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Chapter 4:17; Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.

You see a man, because of his relationship with Christ, there's a tenderness, there's a concern for fellowship, there's a desire for love. In fact, the old historians tell us that John now has been brought out of banishment from the isle of Patmos and he's in his 90s, and he's back home in his church in Ephesus. It's very interesting. You know when you study church history you'll find that those apostles went to major cities around the Mediterranean and other locations and they gave themselves to that city for life. They established great centers of evangelism and then they would evangelize all the cities around, and it was old John, that Paul of course had established the church at Ephesus, but John takes over its pastorship and we're told and one of the history books that John at one time had over 200 pastors that he had trained from his church in Ephesus that had gone throughout all of that area and evangelize, preaching the gospel of Christ. Pastor is now 90. He can't walk. He can hardly talk. He probably can hardly see. I mean it's rough out on that old island, being banished with all the rigors of desolation. They put him on this carrier. They carry him to church and he only had one sentence; brothers, love one another. Brothers, love one another. Brothers, love one another, and then he died. You say, why is that important? Well, if one of the most glorious parts of our Bible was written by a man whose character and his life was changed, and he was made Christ-like, if He could do it for John, He can do it for us.

You know there are times I can relate to John, because there are times, I mean, I take life serious and if something is wrong I want it changed! If somebody is doing something wrong, I want it stopped! And many times in that violent love for life and purity and honesty, I put myself in situations that I assume things that I should not have assumed, and I said things that I should not have said, and I hurt people I should not have hurt. And if ever I say a prayer, I say Jesus, I don't want You to wait until I'm 90, do it now. I'd like to be changed into a man of compassion and love and tenderness, because it was in that tenderness and in that love he penned a gospel and he said I want you to fall in love with Jesus. As we journey through this gospel I have one passionate prayer, Jesus, may it be that as we journey through these pages together all of us will fall more in love with You, and You will transform us into Your likeness just like You did for old John. He is just as human as I am.

Let's pray. Lord Jesus we've launched upon a journey today where we're going to study a man's heart and mind, aged, tenderized through experience and heartache, but made like unto You dear Jesus. And I pray that as we study this great gospel together You will change us. Help us to love You more. Take away the brittleness and the brashness of our personalities. Give us a heart like You dear Jesus. That's our prayer, and everybody said, amen. God bless you.