To the glory of God

 

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.  --1 Corinthians 10:31

 Arguably the greatest musical composer of all time was J.S. Bach.  Not only was he quite prolific, writing over 1128 pieces during his lifetime, but each piece of music was unparalleled in it's technique and quality.  His works are still performed some 350 years after they were written.

Yet this musical GOAT did not write music for himself.  It was not composed for personal fame or fortune.  On every piece of music he wrote, Bach placed the initials SDG.  Soli Deo Gloria.  Glory to God alone.

In our ongoing study of the Gospel of John, we see that Jesus did all of His works for God's glory.  And as we will see in our passage today, doing things according to God's will and for His glory do not always appear to be logical, or in our best interest.

 And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.  Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true."  And many believed Him there.  Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."  When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.  Then, after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?"  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."  These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."  Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."  However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.  Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."  Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."  --John 10:40 - 11:16.

 This story has a lot of moving parts, a lot of things going on in a very short time.  So let's break it down.

First, Jesus left Jerusalem, where the Jewish leaders had questioned Him relentlessly, and had tried to kill Him--twice.  After answering all of their accusations and miraculously evading their execution attempts, Jesus got out of town.  He went to the countryside, across the Jordan river to a place where John had preached.  It is implied that Jesus was doing miracles there beyond the Jordan.  Although the text does not specifically say that He was doing good works there, the people were flocking to Him and exclaiming that "everything John said about this Man is true."  They said John did not do miracles, so we can infer that Jesus was doing miracles there; either that, or word had spread of Him healing the man born blind in Jerusalem some time before that.  Given mankind's woefully short attention span (think "what have you done for me lately"), I believe Jesus was doing miracles there beyond the Jordan.  The Bible says many believed in Him there, because of His miraculous works.

What lessons can we draw from this?  Well, sometimes we might think we want to minister in the capital, in the center of commerce and industry.  After all, that's where all the people are, right?  If our mission is to take the Gospel to the most people, then it stands to reason we'd want to go to the place where more people are.  However, that's not always the case.  Sometimes God may be calling us to more remote areas, to minister where the nets can't be cast so widely, but the message can penetrate more deeply.  The worldly truism says, "Bloom where you are planted."  The deeper truth is that we should minister wherever God puts us, to His glory.

Next, they get word that Jesus's friend Lazarus was sick.  The two sisters Mary and Martha sent Jesus an urgent message.  The message did not say, "Come quick."  They thought it went without saying that Jesus would drop everything and run to help his friend Lazarus.  John doesn't say why Jesus didn't go right away, only that by delaying, God would be glorified.  Death would not win this battle.

A quick internet search says that Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan, where many think Jesus was staying at this time, was an 8 or 9 hour journey by foot.  If the messenger took a day to get to them, and Jesus delayed the journey two days and then set out on the third day, that's four days from the time that the sisters had sent their message to Jesus.  But we will see that when Jesus got there, Lazarus had already been dead for four days.

So perhaps Lazarus's death happened quickly, maybe even before the messengers could return home to Martha and Mary.  Maybe that's why Jesus didn't immediately go.  We don't know for sure.  Maybe the work He was doing at that place would not wait.  Perhaps the Jews were laying in wait for Him until the third day.  The text doesn't say.

We do know that Jesus explained it this way to the disciples: There are only 12 hours of daylight, and our work must be done then.  That way we don't stumble in the darkness, trying to make up for lost time.  Jesus is reiterating what He had said in chapter 9, where in verse 4 He said, "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work."  He will say it again in 12:35, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going."

When Jesus repeats something three times, we ought to pay attention.  So we can take from this that we need to stay close to Jesus, who is our Light.  The further we get away from Jesus, the more we walk in darkness.  We should also work each day for the glory of God, and not put it off for another day.  Indeed, we do not know when our life will be taken from us, and we can no longer do what we were meant to do.

The third thing we see in this passage is Jesus explaining to the disciples that Lazarus had passed away.  At this point, Jesus was ready to travel back toward Jerusalem.  Bethany was just two miles away from Jerusalem, in the region of Judea.

It took a while for the disciples to process this information.  If Jesus knew that Lazarus had died, then there must have been a reason for His delay in returning.  Some of the disciples must have thought that the reason He did not travel back to Judea before was that there was a danger of Jesus being arrested and killed.  Well, if that was the reason Jesus did not go to Judea yesterday or the day before, why would they go to Judea today?  Wasn't it still dangerous?

One of the disciples named Thomas, the one called Didymus or "the Twin", said the quiet part out loud.  If Jesus goes back to Judea, that close to Jerusalem, He will surely be walking into a trap.  He would most certainly be staring at His death.  As a result, each of the disciples had a decision to make: were they going to continue to follow Him, even if it meant certain death? or would they let Him go alone?  Thomas made his decision.  "Let's go," he said, "that we can die with Him."

We know Thomas by a different nickname.  We don't call him "the Twin."  We know him as "Doubting Thomas," because after the disciples told him that Jesus was resurrected, Thomas couldn't believe his ears.  "I saw Him die," Thomas would say.  "Unless I see the nail prints in His hands and the mark of the spear in His side, I will not believe it."

I think we should call Thomas "the Brave Disciple," or "the One Willing to Put His Life On the Line for Jesus."  And I think this is what we need to take from this passage--that following Jesus may not always be the safe path in life.  It may lead to persecution or even death.  Jesus said in Matthew 16:24-25, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."  Paul said in Philippians 1:21, "For me to live is Christ, but to die is gain."  Whether Jesus calls us to life or death, we obey for His glory.

Here comes the Judge

 

The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because made Himself the Son of God.  --John 19:7

One of the hardest and most stressful jobs in the world has to be that of a judge.  You must be a master of the law.  You must be committed to justice.  You need wisdom--wisdom to know when to apply the law strictly, and when to show mercy.

A judge must also have a thick skin.  Some will accuse him of favoritism of one side over another.  Some will accuse him of perverting justice.  Some may accuse him of not knowing the law, or of improperly applying it.  And some may accuse the judge of "playing God."

In the United States, a party to a dispute may have the right to an appeal.  If they disagree with one judge's verdict, they very often can take their case to a higher authority, even to the Supreme Court.  Imagine, though, if you were appointed a judge of a Supreme Law, given by a Supreme Being.  The judges of ancient Israel, from Moses on down to the Sanhedrin of Jesus's day, were called to mete out justice according to God's law.  Their only appeal was to God Himself.

In fact, when judges are mentioned in Exodus 21:6 and 22:8-9, the word translated "judges" is the Hebrew word elohim.  If this term seems familiar to you, it is because it is a word used for God.  The first words in Genesis 1:1 are, "In the beginning, God."  Beresit Elohim.

Now clearly there is a distinction between God on the one hand and the human judges on the other.  One was a Lawgiver.  The others were law interpreters and enforcers.  This does not negate the fact that the term that the Bible uses to describe them could be translated as "gods."  And it was in this context that the psalmist Asaph wrote Psalm 82.

God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods.  How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?  ...They do not know, nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are unstable.  I said, "You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High.  But you shall die like men and fall like one of the princes."  Arise, O God, judge the earth; for You shall inherit all nations.  --Psalm 82:1-2, 5-8

The judges in Asaph's day were standing in the place of God but were not defending the poor and fatherless.  They were not doing justice to the afflicted.  They were not delivering the needy, nor freeing them from the hand of the wicked.  Therefore God demoted them.  No longer would they be known as gods or judges; no longer would they be called children of the Most High God.  Understanding this background passage is key to understanding Jesus's words in John 10.

Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods" '?  If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?  If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."  Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.  --John 10:34-39

Let's unpack this passage a little bit, because I can almost guarantee that your pastor has never preached on these verses.   It's layered.  It's nuanced.  And frankly, it's confusing.

First, let's remind ourselves what got us here.  Jesus healed a man born blind, but he did it on the Sabbath.  This caused a division among the Jews: some said He was from God because no one could open the eyes of the blind except he be sent from God.  Others said no, if He was from God, He would honor the Sabbath and do no work.

The Jews confronted Jesus when He came to the Temple, asking, "Are You the One, or not?  Tell us plainly."  Jesus answered by saying that He was the Good Shepherd, sent by the Father to shepherd the lost sheep of Israel.  This was blatantly calling Himself the Son of God and equating Himself and His ministry with God.  The Jews were ready to stone Him to death right then and there, picking up stones to throw at Him.  Jesus asked them which good work were they stoning Him for?  They said not for doing the works, but for blasphemy, equating Yourself with God by calling Yourself His Son.

Jesus quotes Psalm 82 to show them that calling yourself a child of God was nothing new; Jews had been doing it for centuries.  In fact, in this Psalm, God had called the judges of Israel elohim, little "g" gods.  How was this any different than Jesus calling Himself the Son of God?  Was this really blasphemy?  So on the one hand, reading what Jesus said at a surface level, Jesus was presenting a pretty solid defense against their accusations that He was guilty of blasphemy.

On a deeper level, we see that Jesus was turning the tables on the Pharisees, accusing them of failing in their jobs as judges over Israel and defenders of the Jewish faith.  Let me explain.  

Many times, Jesus would quote a portion of Old Testament Scripture that was meant to remind the Jewish listener of the larger Old Testament passage.  One example would be when Jesus first began His ministry.  In Luke 4 we see that He sat down in the synagogue and read the scroll from Isaiah.  The passage He read was Isaiah 61:1-2.  However, it could be inferred that the entire chapter was speaking of the Messiah.  Jesus didn't have to read verse 10, which says, "He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness."  The reason Jesus didn't have to cite that verse was that the Jews knew the passage by heart, and by just reading the first couple of verses, He would bring to their mind the entire passage.

Another example was when Jesus was on the cross.  One of the things He said as He hung dying there was, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"  All of the Jews (and Gentiles familiar with the Old Testament teaching) would immediately think of Psalm 22.  You can read the entire chapter for yourself; when you do, you will see that many of the things that David said in that Psalm came to pass at the crucifixion of Jesus.  Some people actually said, "He (Jesus) trusted in the Lord; let Him (God) rescue Him (Jesus)."  This was written in verse 8 centuries before Jesus came and died.  You'll also remember that the soldiers at the crucifixion cast lots for Jesus's clothes.  Psalm 22:18 says that very thing: "They divide My garments among them, and cast lots for My clothing."  How would David know this would happen?  Yet when Jesus said these words from the cross, it was not just despairing of life; it was also a reminder that it was He that David had written about so many years before.

So in our passage in John 10, when Jesus quotes from Psalm 82, He was essentially accusing them of not judging correctly, of not taking into account the poor and needy.  Like the poor man who had been born blind.  That man didn't need scorn, which the Pharisees had given him.  That man didn't need alms, which other, less "religious" Jews might have given him.  That man needed healing.  He needed his sight restored.  In a way, so did the Pharisees.  They, too, were blind in their sins, and could not see the Light.

Now before I conclude, I want to point out that many critics of the Gospel today say that Jesus never claimed to be the Son of God.  They point out that Jesus referred to Himself as "the Son of Man."  As such, they (like the Pharisees and Jewish leaders ready to throw stones at Jesus) deny the deity of Christ.  To those people, I want to point to John 10:36 in our text.  Here Jesus specifically states, "I said, 'I am the Son of God.' "  He does not deny saying it, and He certainly does not deny being the Son of God.

So what can we take from this passage, now that we know the context?  First, we see that God is the true Judge, and that anyone who is given the responsibility of being a judge must judge righteously and fairly.  Next, we see that we who are called children of God must walk in the light, not in darkness.  We who bear His name are not merely "playing god," but are tasked with doing the works of God here on this earth.  Finally, we must watch out for false teachers who deny the deity of Christ.  Not only must we not follow them, but we must rebuke them and convince others not to follow their false teaching.

 

Who do you trust?

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."  --Isaiah 30:21 (NIV)

When I was growing up, one of the worst things a person could be called was a lemming.  It was believed that lemmings were so stupid that if one of them jumped off a cliff, all of them would follow, jumping off a cliff just like their leader had done.

Today I learned that this is a myth.

It is true that lemmings are pack animals.  According to the Encyclopedia Brittanica website, when the pack becomes too large, and their numbers are unsustainable, a number of them might split off and go together to find a new home.  Since they are great swimmers, they might jump into a water barrier (like a river or lake) and swim across.  Some may get caught up in the current and drown, but it is not a mass suicide event.

The myth was actually created by the producers of a Disney film called White Wilderness.  Wanting some dramatic footage, they staged a mass lemming suicide by throwing the rodents off the cliff while cameras below were rolling.  It was deliberate fraud.  

"So why is the myth of mass lemming suicide so widely believed? For one, it provides an irresistible metaphor for human behavior. Someone who blindly follows a crowd—maybe even toward catastrophe—is called a lemming. Over the past century, the myth has been invoked to express modern anxieties about how individuality could be submerged and destroyed by mass phenomena, such as political movements or consumer culture." --www.britannica.com/story/do-lemmings-really-commit-mass-suicide

Sheep, on the other hand, are truly stupid animals.  They are not pack animals, so they do not have an "alpha male" or a natural leader among their own kind.  That's why Matthew 9:36 says of Jesus, "When He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd."

You remember last time we discussed the assertion that Jesus made, that He was the Good Shepherd.  Many in the crowd believed--even those Pharisees and Jewish leaders who were self-appointed judges of Israel.  John documents this in these verses:

Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings.  And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad.  Why do you listen to Him?"  Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon.  Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"  --John 10:19-21

To review, this was the third accusation that His detractors had made.  In earlier arguments in John, Jesus had been accused of desecrating the Sabbath by healing (more than once) on this holy day, which in some cases could be a capital offense.  His second offense had been directing another person to do work on the Sabbath, when He had directed the man to carry his bedroll.  Now, some accused Jesus of having a demon, which could be associated with witchcraft.  Again, one could be stoned to death for this infraction of Jewish law.

In each case, those who wished to kill Jesus were restrained by others among the Jewish leaders who said His crimes did not rise to the level of a capital offense.  In fact, they might even be evidence of His Messiahship.  So there was a great discussion that lasted several weeks or months, because the next time John's narrative picks up again it is winter, during the celebration of the Feast of Dedication, which we would call Hannukah.

Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.  And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.  Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt?  If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."  Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe.  The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.  But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.  I and My Father are one."  Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.  Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father.  For which of those works do you stone Me?"  The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."  --John 10:22-32

This was the last straw.  There was no defense for claiming to be equal to God.  Blasphemy was not to be tolerated among God's people.  

One of the first prayers that a Jewish child was taught was known as the Sh'ma, which begins this way: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever."  It was a prayer to remind them to guard against idols.  Israel had a long history of rejecting the true God and falling into idolatry.  

It never worked out well for them.

Their worship was centered around one deity only, and only Moses had seen Him face to face.  Here Jesus was claiming equality with God.  Notice the progression.  In verse 28 Jesus said His sheep have eternal life in Him, and no one can snatch them out of Jesus's hand.  In verse 29 Jesus said God, whom He calls Father, has given Jesus the sheep, and that no one can snatch them out of the Father's hand.  Finally, in verse 30, Jesus says that He and the Father are one.

There are actual theologians today who claim that Jesus never claimed to be God.  They try to explain that Jesus's words here were vague, and could mean a number of different things.  However, the message was not lost on the Jews who heard Jesus first-hand.  They were ready to mete out punishment right then and there.  

When Jesus appealed to the less dogmatic among them, the ones who may have believed that He was the Messiah, notice what He said.  Remember when the Pharisees had said He was guilty of having a demon, the others among them pointed to His works.  "Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" they asked.  Here, Jesus points to His works.  For which of them was He going to be stoned to death?  

"We are not stoning You for good works," they said, "but because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."  Jesus very clearly equated Himself with God.

I also want us to see another eternal truth in this passage.  Not only is Jesus God, but He also shows here the way of salvation.  Commentator John Trapp says of verse 27:

It is easy to observe those five links of that golden chain of God's grace in our salvation:

• My sheep--there is Election.
• Hear My voice--there is Vocation.
• And I know them--there is Justification.
• And they follow Me--there is Sanctification.
• And I give unto them eternal life--there is Glorification.

Election is God choosing us for salvation.  Romans 8:29 says, "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren."  Vocation is God's calling or purpose for each believer.  Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."  

Justification is God's declaration of our righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ.  Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."  Sanctification is the process of becoming more like Christ, a lifelong journey of spiritual growth and transformation.  1 Thessalonians 5:23 says, "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Glorification is the final stage of our salvation, where believers are fully conformed to the image of Christ and receive their resurrected bodies.  Romans 8:18 says, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."  

We exist for His glory.  We are saved for His glory.  He calls us for His glory.  His glory will be fully revealed when we get to heaven to live with Him forever.  Hallelujah.

This was not the first time that the Jews had tried to stone Jesus.  In chapter 8, He simply walked past them as they were blinded by rage (or by the Spirit).  This time, Jesus continues to speak to them, and we will see next time He escapes their grasp because His time had not yet come.

We who are His followers have been called lemmings for our apparent blind allegiance to His words and teaching.  Jesus calls us His sheep.  If we were to be thrown off the cliff, who do we trust to catch us in His hand?  Isaiah 12:2 says, "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid."