The Gospel According to John –Review (Part III)

January 15, 2006

Today’s message is the third part of my review of John’s gospel, which I’ve been going through for close to two years now. As we review, remember that the purpose of John’s writing is so that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, we may have life in his name (John 20:30, 31).

Also, as always, I encourage you to read your Bibles every day. Don’t neglect the word of God that gives you life.

[Prayer]

Up to this point in this review, I’ve talked about who Jesus is – that he is eternal, without beginning of days or end of life, that all things were created through him and by him and for him, all of the universe, including us, that he is life and the source of all life – and that, although he was in very nature God, he emptied himself and took on the form of a man. He sacrificed himself for us as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

I’ve also talked about the fact that salvation is only through Jesus. There is no other power or authority or means by which we may be saved. Jesus is both our judge and our savior. Salvation is only through faith in Jesus. There is no other way to salvation. People may want to believe there is another way, but there is no other way but through Jesus and through faith in him. (And I don’t think I mentioned it before, but Jesus told his disciples that no one could come to him unless God the Father enabled him. (John 6:65) So, even faith is a gift from God.)

I also talked about the fact that Jesus came not to do his own will, but the will of God the Father who sent him. Jesus, who was God who came in the flesh, did not consider his life to be his own. Jesus is our example. We must not consider our lives to be our own either. We were bought and paid for by Jesus when he let himself be tortured to death for our sin.

Also, last week, I talked about the fact that we are fighting a spiritual war with the unseen (and, many times, unsuspected) forces of evil, the devil and his angels, so we must be self-controlled and alert. But the war we are fighting is a war that we will ultimately win. We may lose a few skirmishes, but we will ultimately win the war. Jesus defeated our enemy by going to the cross. He will reign until all of his enemies are submitted under his feet. The last enemy to be defeated is death. (1 Cor. 15:25, 26) Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Jesus laid down his life for the sheep. (John 10:11,14,15)

Now I’m going to continue from where I left off last week. In chapter 11, John gives the account of Jesus’s raising Lazarus from the dead. This is really the only miraculous sign that John recorded that I’m going to talk about (except for the most important one – that Jesus died for our sin, and then, himself, rose from the dead. You remember that John recorded the signs so that we could read about them and believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that by believing, we might have life in his name). Anyway, here’s what happened I chapter 11.

Jesus was in the place where John the Baptist had been baptizing when Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, sent word to him that Lazarus was sick. They referred to Lazarus as the one Jesus loved: “Lord, the one you love is sick.” John says that Jesus loved Mary and Martha and Lazarus, but waited two days before he went to them, presumably to make sure Lazarus would be dead long enough for there to be no doubt about the fact that he was really dead – so that no one could possible say that he had just been unconscious when Jesus raised him from the dead. (As it turned out, Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days when Jesus raised him from the dead.)

Now, John says that he recorded this miracle (and the other he recorded) so that we would believe who Jesus is –as confirmation that he is the Son of God. So I’m going to skip down to where Martha went out to meet Jesus as he was coming to their home. This is from John 11:20-27:

^{20When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
^{21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²²But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
^{23Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
^{24Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
^{25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; ²⁶and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
^{27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” (John 11:20-27 –NIV)

Martha went out to meet Jesus. She knew something about Jesus. If Jesus had been there, her brother Lazarus wouldn’t have died. She knew Jesus could heal the sick. She also knew something else about Jesus. She said, “But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” She knew that God always answered Jesus’s prayers. (Later, when Jesus prayed before he called Lazarus out of the tomb, he said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” Jesus thanked his Father because he always heard his prayers. That’s important for us to know too, because all of John Chapter 17, which I’m planning on talking about next week is a prayer that Jesus prayed; the entire chapter is a prayer. You notice too that Jesus prayed the way he did so that when he raised Lazarus from the dead, people would believe that God the Father had sent him.)

Now, when Martha said to Jesus, “I know that even now God will give you anything you ask,” Jesus answered by saying, “Your brother will live again.”

Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

People accuse Martha of unbelief because of the way she answered Jesus –that she didn’t really believe Jesus could or would raise Lazarus from the dead. “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Maybe she was just answering the way some might to relieve grief and try to hope to see a loved one sometime in the distant future. But Martha knew the Old Testament was the word of God and that there really was a resurrection of the dead. And I believe that when she said, “I know that even now God will give you anything you ask,” she knew that Jesus could raise her brother from the dead right then. Here’s how Jesus answered Martha. He said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” Then he asked her if she believed him.

This is the central teaching of this passage –and the central teaching of John’s gospel as well: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead to show that he had the authority to make this statement. Jesus is the resurrection and Jesus is the life! There is no other resurrection. There is no other life. Mary answered Jesus, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” And that’s what John wants us to believe too.

Now just one more thing from chapter 11: If you read verses 45 through 53, you will see that many of the people who had seen that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead put their faith in Jesus. The chief priests and the Pharisees, the Jewish leaders, didn’t like that. They believed that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, but they did not put their faith in him. They thought that Jesus would lead a rebellion against the Roman government and that the Roman army would come and destroy their nation –and that they would lose the positions of power and prestige. Verse 53 says that from that day on they plotted to kill Jesus.

But if you go on to chapter 12, you’ll see that when the chief priests found out that people were not only coming to see Jesus but also coming to see Lazarus, they made plans to kill Lazarus as well! Can you believe that? Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and they planned on fixing the problem by killing Lazarus. They just didn’t get it! But sometimes we don’t get it either. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and rose from the dead himself. And we have seen people healed and at least heard of people being raised from the dead in this day and age. We’ve seen God answer our prayers. We’ve also seen God not answer our prayers. And how often, when God fails to answer our prayers, not just for healing, but about anything, have we tried to do it ourselves, even if we don’t think it’s God’s will? The chief priests tried to get around God’s will for Lazarus to live by killing him. But when the chief priests killed Jesus it was because that was God’s plan of salvation from the beginning. Jesus was willing to be put to death so that we wouldn’t be condemned to eternal punishment. But, as far as we know, Lazarus went on living for many years.

Now let’s go on to chapter 13. In chapter 13, John tells us how Jesus taught his disciples through washing their feet. (Some of us wash each others feet as a ritual, or to remember what Jesus taught his disciples. When we observe this, we usually make sure our feet are clean before we let someone else wash them. But in Jesus’s time, they wore sandals and walked in the streets where there was animal manure. Usually, if people didn’t wash their own feet when they came into a house, the lowliest servant would do it. But let me read the passage. This is from John 13:1-17:

^{1It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. ²The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.
^{3Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
^{6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
^{7Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
^{8“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
^{9“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
^{10Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” ¹¹For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
^{12When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (John 13:1-17 –NIV)

Jesus had saved this foot washing until just before he would go to the cross. John says, in verse 4, that Jesus got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist, poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet. He dried their feet with the towel. But when Jesus came to Peter (verse 6), Peter was not going to let Jesus wash his feet. He told Jesus, “No, you shall never wash my feet.” (The CSB says, “You will never wash my feet –ever!”) Earlier, Peter wasn’t going to let Jesus die for him either; but Jesus rebuked him. Jesus rebuked Peter this time, too and told him that if he didn’t wash Peter’s feet he would have no part with him –he would no longer be his disciple!

It sounds like Peter thought he was unworthy to have Jesus wash his feet, and he certainly was! All of us are! But what this really is is pride. The teaching is that if you are unwilling to let Jesus clean you up because you are too dirty, too filthy, because you are unworthy of him, you can’t be his disciple. You may not think so, but it’s really pride –and you can’t be his disciple unless you are willing to come to him and to let him clean you up. Do you understand? We have to confess all of our sin –and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all unrighteousness – from pride too! Peter let Jesus wash his feet.

When Jesus had finished washing the disciples’ feet, he got dressed and asked them if they understood what he had done. He told them that he, their Lord and teacher, had washed their feet and that they ought to do the same for each other. We need to love and to serve each other. Jesus is our example. We need to be humble and wash each other’s feet. Look at what Jesus said in chapter 13 verses 34 and 35: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Now let’s go on to chapter 14. Jesus taught the disciples a lot in chapter 14. But what I really wanted to point out is what Jesus said in verse 6. In verse 6 Jesus told the disciples, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” There it is again. Salvation is only through Jesus. You can’t come to God except through Jesus.

In chapter 15 Jesus says: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” (John 15:5,6) Apart from Jesus we die, just as a branch that is cut off from the vine dies. If we remain in Jesus, we bear fruit. The fruit is what God wants to see in our lives.

Now listen to this: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) This is the bottom line. This is what God the Father wants to see in us! This is the fruit! Jesus is our example. He was in his very nature God. He emptied himself and took on the form of a servant. He loved us and laid down his life for us.

And he rose from the dead and is reigning at the right hand of God. (Acts 7:55, 56) He is alive forever and is always interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:34, 38, 39) Jesus will reign until all his enemies are under his feet. (1 Cor. 15:25) He will send his angels to gather us from the four winds. (Matt. 24:31) And so, we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thess. 4:17)

More next week (the last installment, the Lord willing).

[Prayer]}}}}}}}}}}}}}}