John 12:44-50
Sunday Morning Bible Study
June 9, 1996
Introduction
It's still the last Sunday before Jesus is to die, the day known as Palm Sunday.
We saw Jesus enter triumphantly into Jerusalem among large crowds, being hailed as king.
One of the reasons for the crowds was all the miracles He had performed.
But though He had done many miracles, still many of the people did not believe in Him.
Others started to believe, but were afraid to make an open committment to Jesus.
We were told:
(John 12:43 KJV) For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
Jesus now enters into His last public talk.
He makes His last call to the public to believe in Him.
After John 12, the things that Jesus speaks are going to be to His disciples, or on trial.
:44-50 Believing on His Words
:44-45 Believing Jesus is believing the Father
:44 He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me
Different ways to translate this verse:
NIV:
"When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me."
Or,
"Not on me only, but also on," (RWP)
All along, Jesus has been claiming that He was sent from God the Father.
God had a plan to bring lost mankind back to Himself, and it involved sending His Son.
If a person rejects this idea, they are rejecting God's one plan for salvation:
Joh 5:23 That all [men] should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. (AV)
:45 he that seeth me
If you want to know what God is like, just look at Jesus.
(John 14:6-11 KJV) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. {7} If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. {8} Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. {9} Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? {10} Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. {11} Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.
You will get no greater, clearer picture of what God is like than by looking at Jesus.
:46 Bringing Light
:46 I am come a light into the world ...
should not abide in darkness
or, "continue to stay in darkness", or, "remain"
Jesus is giving a great picture here.
It's like going down into the Carlsbad Caverns, and they turn out the lights on you, and you can't even see your hand in front of your face.
The world is in spiritual darkness.
But Jesus is the Light.
Darkness is a picture of several things -
Sin
Lack of direction
Lesson:
1) Victory over Sin
Jesus said:
John 3:19-21 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
But Jesus, as the Light, has come so that we wouldn't have to live in darkness.
Jesus makes it possible for us to have victory over sin.
Do you know what it's like to be in bondage to a particular sin?
Where you have no control over it, and as soon as a temptation presents itself, you immediately give in?
Jesus has come to give us victory over sin!
Illustration:
In the third century, Cyprian, the Bishop of Carthage, wrote to his friend Donatus: "It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and good people who have learned the great secret of life. They have found a joy and wisdom which is a thousand times better than any of the pleasures of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are Christians... and I am one of them."
Paul wrote to the Corinthians:
(1 Cor 6:9-11 KJV) Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, {10} Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. {11} And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
Are you struggling with a bondage to sin?
Turn on the Light!
Jesus came so that you wouldn't remain in darkness.
2) Direction in life
What's the first thing you do when you walk into a strange room, and it's dark inside?
You turn on the light!
Some people are searching for true direction in life.
Their lives are like a person trying to find their way in a dark room.
They don't know which way to go, what to do, and just keep bumping into things.
The answer? Turn on the Light.
Coming to Jesus turns on the light in our lives.
The more we grow in the Lord, the more things start to make sense, the more we are "enlightened".
How do we do it?
One way is by staying in God's Word:
(Psa 119:105 KJV) Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Illustration:
John Bunyan wrote his immortal allegory Pilgrim's Progress after mastering the Scriptures and sensing that God had spoken to him again and again through its pages. He said, "Although you may have no commentaries at hand, continue to read the Word and pray; for a little from God is better than a great deal received from a man. Too many are content to listen to what comes from men's mouths, without searching and kneeling before God to know the real truth. That which we receive directly from the Lord through the study of His Word is from the 'minting house' itself. Even old truths are new if they come to us with the smell of heaven upon them."
Illustration:
A ship was wrecked. As the sailors were making their escape in small boats, suddenly two of them sprang overboard, swam back and entered the ship. They soon reappeared with something in their hands, and swam at great risk to their boats. They had forgotten to take their compass.
-- Rev. G.B.F. Hallock, (NY: Geo. H. Duran Co., 1923).
That compass for us is God's Word.
It keeps us heading in the right direction.
It keeps us on course.
:47-48 Judged by His Words
:47 and believe not
NIV, NAS have " and does not keep them"
:47 if any man hear my words
This is kind of an important part of this next idea.
It's important to keep in mind that the people Jesus talks about being judged, are people who have heard His words.
It's not that people who haven't heard Jesus' words aren't going to be judged.
Those people will still be accountable to God for what they know, and they know plenty just from creation alone.
But the issue is not about those who haven't heard, the issue is about those who HAVE heard.
And I'm sorry to say it, but after today, there shouldn't be a single person in this room who would leave here today without having heard.
Once a person has heard the claims of Jesus Christ, they are without excuse.
The basics:
We are sinners, separated from God by our sin.
But God still loves us.
God sent His Son, Jesus to die on a cross to pay for our sins, and provide for our forgiveness.
That all we need to do to receive God's forgiveness and eternal life, is to admit our sinfulness, make the decision in our heart to turn around (repent), and ask for God's help.
:47 I judge him not
Jesus will indeed one day judge the world. (John 5:22)
But His primary purpose now is something else.
:47 I came not to judge the world, but to save the world
This sounds an awful lot like what Jesus said at the beginning of His ministry:
Joh 3:17-18 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (AV)
Jesus didn't come to lay heavy guilt trips on people.
He came to save them.
Lesson:
We need Jesus' heart!
Sometimes I come across Christians who make it their life's work to condemn everyone around them.
All they talk about is why this person or that person is going to hell.
I remember when I was in college, and the preachers would come and preach at the college kids.
All I ever remember them talking about was why everybody was going to hell.
Don't misunderstand me -
I'm not saying that there isn't a proper place to warn people about the judgment of God.
Jesus did plenty to warn people about hell.
I think that the Holy Spirit can do a great job of bringing conviction to people's hearts!
That's one of His jobs! (John 16:8)
And I don't think He needs as much help from us as we think He does.
Our primary focus should be to tell people how God wants to rescue them from hell!
:48 the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day
In other words, Jesus isn't going to sit there on the final judgement day and say, "Well, you really hurt my feelings, and that's why I'm sending you to hell!"
The judgment will come when a person doesn't believe, but it will come when the words of the gospel are played back for them to hear, proving that they had a chance to respond to God's message.
A person isn't going to be able to stand before God and say, "But I didn't hear the gospel, I never got a chance!"
"Roll the tape!"
God will just ask Gabriel to play back the video tape.
And there you are in Sunday School, listening to George Shade telling you about how Jesus died for your sins.
Then there you are in high school, listening to Xavi tell you about how much Jesus loves you.
Then there you are in College, when some guy came up to share the Four Spiritual Laws with you.
And there you are in Calvary Chapel of Fullerton, getting a chance to respond to Jesus one more time.
When you've heard the message, you're responsible to respond to it - with no excuses.
:49-50 Jesus spoke God's Words
:49 I have not spoken of myself
In other words, Jesus in His humanity didn't sit around and try to cook up some cute little sayings to start a new religion with.
:49 the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment
All that Jesus said was given to Him from heaven itself!
:49 what I should say, and what I should speak
The two words used here for "say" and "speak" are two different Greek words, and there seems to be a little bit of a difference between them.
The word translated "say" seems to carry a stronger idea of the content of what is said.
It's the actual words that are spoken.
The word translated "speak" seems to carry more the idea of the action of speaking itself, and so the idea of more the manner in which things are spoken.
It's not just what is said, but how it's said.
NIV:
"what to say and how to say it"
(RWP) "Meyer and Westcott take eipô to refer to the content and lalêsô more to the varying manner of delivery. Possibly so."
Lesson:
God's not just concerned with what you say, but how you say it.
Solomon says that we have a choice in how we express things, either in a gentle way, or in a harsh way.
Pr 15:1 ¶ A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. (NAS)
Illustration:
How NOT to say things to your teenager:
1. Do as I say, not as I do.
2. I'm the adult. I'm right.
3. Because I said so, that's why.
4. You want to be what?
5. This room's a pig sty.
6. Can't you do anything right?
7. Where did you find him?
8. You did what?
9. Do you mind if we talk about something else?
10. I'm kind of busy right now. Could you come back later?
From Jay Kesler, Ten Mistakes Parents Make with Teenagers And How To Avoid Them, Wolgemuth & Hyatt Publishers, Inc., 1988.
It's not that these aren't true, but it's how they're said!
Illustration:
For husbands and wives:
Shortly after her marriage to Prince Albert, Queen Victoria had a quarrel with her new husband. Albert walked out of the room and locked himself in his private apartment. Victoria hammered furiously on the door. "Who's there?" called Albert.
"The Queen of England, and she demands to be admitted." There was no response, and the door remained locked. Victoria hammered again.
"Who's there?" The reply was the same, and still the door remained shut. More fruitless and furious knocking was followed by a pause. Then there was a gentle tap.
"Who's there?" Albert asked.
"Your wife, Albert," the Queen replied. The prince opened the door at once!
Paul says that the key to a church maturing in the Lord is that we learn to speak the truth to each other.
But not just speaking the facts in a cold, harsh manner, but ...
Eph 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, [even] Christ: (AV)
:50 I know that his commandment is life everlasting
This is coming from Jesus Himself.
He is saying that He knows that the things that God has given Him to speak are the things that give eternal life.
It's not a matter of me trying to tell you that I know that this is the way to eternal life.
It's that Jesus Himself says that He has the way to eternal life.
Peter said: (Joh 6:68) Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. (AV)
Are you ready to open up your heart to Him? / Prepare for communion.