Christ Church

I Know Him

Christ Church on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

THE TEXT

After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. 2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. 3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For not even his brothers believed in him.6 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

10 But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.” 13 Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?” 20 The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel at it. 22 Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well? 24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

25 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.”30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?” (John 7:1–31).

Read Full Article

See and Believe

Christ Church on

THE TEXT

On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone— 23 however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks— 24 when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 25 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”

26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you,because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

30 Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”

32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”

35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me,that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:22-40

Read Full Article

True Fruit & Real Glory

Christ Church on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

INTRODUCTION

It has sometimes been said that people are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good, but that is actually a slander and a lie. In fact, C.S. Lewis said rightly, “If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next.” Likewise, Lewis said, “Aim at heaven and you get earth thrown in; aim at earth and you get neither.”

THE TEXT

“And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast:21 The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.22 Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.33 This he said, signifying what death he should die” (Jn. 12:20–33).

OVERVIEW OF THE TEXT

There were God-fearing Greeks that came to the Feast of Passover in Jerusalem who wanted to see Jesus, and the disciples told Him (12:20-22). Jesus answered by saying that his hour had come to be glorified – the glory of fruit coming out of the ground after a seed has died (12:23-24). But Jesus is not only talking about Himself since He immediately says that this is true of anyone who would seek eternal life: they must lose their life and follow Jesus to be with Him and receive the honor of His Father (12:25-26). Jesus says He is troubled by what is about to happen, but He prays that the Father will glorify His name (12:27-28). God answers that prayer immediately saying He has glorified His name and He will again (12:28). Some thought God’s answer sounded like thunder, others said it was an angel, and Jesus said the answer was for the encouragement of the people (12:29-30). Finally, Jesus declares the judgment of the world and its prince, and that His death will surely draw all men to Himself (12:31-33).

THE BATTLE OF THERMOPYLAE

It doesn’t seem to be an accident that Jesus responds this way to the message that some Greeks are wanting to see Him. Whether He made this reply in their presence, or this reply was relayed to them, a message about glory and honor and dying seems well suited for Greeks, steeped in the glory-lore of their civilization, for example the Battle of Thermopylae. In August or September of 480 B.C. hundreds of thousands (or millions) of Persians descended upon the Pass of Thermopylae, called the Hot Gates, manned by 300 Spartan warriors and a few thousand other Greeks. Led by King Leonidas, the Spartans held the Persians off for two full days inflicting massive casualties on the Persian forces. As the third day dawned, Persians had broken through another pass, flanking the Greeks. At that point Leonidas apprised the other Greeks of their position and offered them the chance to retreat, which most took, but the Spartans had no intention of retreating. As they ate breakfast, preparing for the third day of battle, legend has it that Leonidas told his men, “Eat well, for tonight we dine in Hades.” The 300 Spartans launched themselves into the Persian forces expecting to die, and so they did to the last man. And yet, many consider that last stand of the Spartans to have actually saved Greek civilization and with it many virtues of the West. We have a similar story in American history with the Alamo. What was a momentary loss, became a rallying cry for freedom and eventual victory.

DEATH, DEATH EVERYWHERE

One of the things the ancients have over us is their general understanding that death comes to all and very soon. On average, in the US, 7-8,000 people die every day from all causes. Around 153,000 people die every day in the world, over 56 million every year. And the mortality rate is holding steady at 100%. Between average longevity increasing substantially, infant mortality plummeting significantly, and the fact that most death happens in the West in hospitals and nursing homes, we are tempted to be shocked by death. But this side of the Fall, the plan is to die. The only question, Jesus says, is what your death will accomplish. We have been trained to think almost the exact opposite. We are catechized by our culture to do anything we can to put off death since our lives will be defined by what we accomplish before we die. But Jesus says here that a seed cannot bear any fruit unless it goes into the ground and dies (12:24). Jesus says He is aiming for this glory: He expects the great fruit of His life to come after He is lifted up and dies (12:31-33). Anyone who wants eternal life must think and act the same way (12:26-27).

THE HOUR HAS COME

In John’s gospel, “the hour” has been referenced a number of times, usually stressing that it is “coming” or that it is “not yet come” (Jn. 2:4, 5:28, 7:30, 8:20), but here, for the first time, Jesus emphatically says, “the hour is come” (12:23). Clearly, Jesus is talking about His impending death – it was for this purpose that He came to this hour (12:27). But this hour brings with it not only the death of Christ but also the judgement of this world, the casting out of the devil, and drawing all men to Himself (12:31-32). Now this will happen. Theologians often refer to these kinds of statements in the gospels as “already/not yet.” For example, the Kingdom was already in the midst of the disciples (Lk. 17:21), but they were also to pray for it to come, as we still do (Lk. 11:2). Likewise, Christ already died, and the deathblow has been delivered to Satan who has been cast down (Lk. 10:18, Rev. 12:9), but he still prowls about seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8). His power has already been destroyed (Heb. 2:14), and yet he is not yet cast into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:10). The kingdoms of this world have been become the Kingdom of our Lord (Mt. 28:18, Rev. 11:15), but we do not yet see all things put beneath His feet (Heb. 2:8) and He must reign in heaven until we do (1 Cor. 15:25). And all the indications are that God intends to accomplish this fruitfulness over the course of many generations.

COVENANTAL CONCLUSIONS

Having marinated in secular individualism for the last century, even self-conscious Christians find it difficult to think of their lives covenantally. But this is the underlying logic of what Jesus is talking about. People are connected by ties far deeper than blood and genes and the hurly-burly of life. How were we born into sin? By Adam’s sin, a man who died thousands of years ago. How have we been forgiven and made righteous? By Christ’s obedient death two thousand years ago. He was lifted up on the cross and destroyed the power of the Devil. But this is all to say that Christ is the Lord of history. We are not just trapped in the system. He is at work.

Abraham is still the Father of the Faithful, fathering of every nation on earth receiving the blessing of Jesus, and he and Sarah died believing the promises but not seeing them fulfilled (Rom. 4:17-25). Both he and Sarah have been increasingly fruitful as the centuries have gone on (cf. 1 Pet. 3:6). How is that possible? Christ is doing it. His efficacious death and resurrection are doing it. But that is a covenantal fruitfulness that has sprung from Abraham and Sarah’s dead bodies (Rom. 4:19), a fruitfulness we have joined by faith in the death of Christ, sealed in the waters of our baptism. We have already died, and our lives are hidden with Christ in God. True fruit and real glory are found in the answer to our Master’s prayer: Father, glorify Thyname.

Read Full Article

He Treads on the Waves of the Sea

Christ Church on

THE TEXT

“…Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.

16 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. 18 Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. 19 So when they had rowed about [c]three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. 20 But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going” (John 6:1–21).

Read Full Article