Alston Road Church of Christ Podcast

Series: N/A

Service: Sun AM

Type: Sermon

Speaker: John Kilgore

Series: N/A

Service: Sun PM

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Jason Krogh

Series: N/A

Service: Sun PM

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Jacob Walker

Series: N/A

Service: Sun AM

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Scott Kercheville

Series: (none)

Service: Sun AM

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Scott Kercheville

Jesus Turns "Sign-Believers" Away

“Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.” (John 2:23–25 ESV)

When we consider the miraculous signs of Jesus we are often amazed that more people did not believe in him. And yet we often forget the few passages like this one where Jesus actually turned away believers.

The concept of a Jesus who would actually turn believers away is foreign to us-it does not fit the all-accepting, tolerant picture we have of him. Doesn't he know that's not how you build a megachurch? He received repentant tax collectors and prostitutes, why turn away a believing crew like this?

The answer lies in the reasoning for their belief. Jesus knew exactly what was in people and he knew these people only believe I because they "saw signs." In other words, Jesus could do miracles - supernatural stuff - so he must be from God. Nicodemus is an example of this in John 3:2 when he says, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." To which Jesus essentially replies," you're going to have to do better than that if you want to see God's Kingdom."

Jesus faces the same problem in John 6 when the people who ate the bread came back the next day asking for more bread. To which Jesus replied, "you aren't here because you saw and understood the signs, you are here because I filled your bellies yesterday."

In other words, Jesus turned away many because they didn't see him as more than a miracle worker — someone who could fix their temporary, surface-level problems right then and there. He could have shot Roman candles out of his fingers and many of these same people would have believed in him just the same. They didn't see the deeper meaning behind Jesus' signs, they didn't see anything more than divine power that can be utilized by me today. And though Jesus was able to get some to change their view of him, he ultimately turned many away: he wasn't serving what the food they were looking for.

But we aren't at risk of making the same mistake today, are we? We read all of Jesus' signs in John and we instantly get the deeper meaning and see where that sign (signpost) is pointing, right? No, some are quite challenging for us.

THE CURSE AND THE FEAST

With that in mind, I want to look with you at John 2 when Jesus provided wine for a wedding feast that was doomed to embarrassment. Imagine you went to a wedding that ran out of whatever you were drinking-not that big of a deal right? The reception won't last more than an hour or two anyway. But when the wedding Jesus was at ran out of wine, that was a big deal. Wedding celebrations often lasted for days, and to run out of wine mid feast was a big embarrassment.

Not only that, but for the Jews who knew their Bibles, their minds were swimming in a world of symbolism and running out of wine at such a great occasion could have reminded them that this way. only symptomatic of a greater problem, a greater curse, a greater judgment on the world.

Notice the picture of the curse that devours the earth in Isaiah 24:4-13. “The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and withers; the highest people of the earth languish. The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left. The wine mourns, the vine languishes, all the merry-hearted sigh. The mirth of the tambourines is stilled, the noise of the jubilant has ceased, the mirth of the lyre is stilled. No more do they drink wine with singing; strong drink is bitter to those who drink it. The wasted city is broken down; every house is shut up so that none can enter. There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine; all joy has grown dark; the gladness of the earth is banished. Desolation is left in the city; the gates are battered into ruins. For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done.” Notice how one of the pictures of curse on the earth is that the grapes and the wine are gone. The sweetest blessing God has to offer is non-exist ant because of the sins of the world.

But notice the contrasting picture in Isaiah 25:6-8 - a picture of God's Kingdom in the age and world to come. “On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.” As God is reunited with his people. He puts an end to death and hosts a delicious feast of rich food and of well-aged wine (cf. Amos 9:13-15)

Jesus alludes to this in Matthew 8 when he speaks of how people will come from all directions to "recline at table" in the Kingdom of heaven. And so, the Jews recognized that the world was under a curse, but one day God would return to his people and in that day (a wedding feast in Revelation) we will enjoy feasting with God and his people in his Kingdom.

MY HOUR HAS NOT YET COME (2:1-5)

So, in light of this worldview, let’s read John 2:1-5 and see what happens when this wedding runs out of wine. I believe Jesus' mother is precisely aware of what the prophets said the fullness of God's Kingdom would be like and it is for this reason that she goes straight to Jesus and says, "They have no wine." Jesus' response has often confused people for a couple of reasons.

① "Woman, what does this have to do with me," sounds really rude to our modern ears. Rest assured, "woman" was actually a term of endearment.

② On the surface, it sounds like Jesus is saying he's not going to solve this problem, but Mary's response is to tell the servants to do whatever Jesus says, and then Jesus continues to actually tell the servants what to do to solve the problem.

Clearly, then, Jesus isn't saying he will not act. Look more carefully at what Jesus says, "My hour has not yet come." As always in John, there is more happening here than meets the eye. Jesus and his mother both know that the coming of God's Kingdom will end problems like this, so when she says, "They have no wine," they both know she's making a big request — she's hoping for kingdom come, the final feast — to which Jesus says, "My hour has not yet come."

In John, Jesus' hour refers to the chain of events starting with the cross. Jesus' time to start dealing with the big problems of this world in a systemic way won't truly begin until he goes to the cross. Kingdom doesn't really and truly start to come until Jesus endures this challenging hour. And even still, that's only the beginning of his time. Jesus acts here and provides wine, but he doesn't end the curse. As one commentator put it, “Jesus isn't claiming an inability to act, but an inability to act in a full way," (Edward W. Klink II). It isn't yet his hour.

It's important that we hear Jesus here too. though his hour has come, we still wait for every enemy to be destroyed and for all suffering and lack to end.

We are generally quite wealthy, so when we" run out" of something, we just click and order more. And if we run out of money, we just tap-tap to another credit card. And so we often push away the reminder that this world is devoured with a curse, until some way or another the curse catches up with us. It may be that medical news we never expected to hear, that financial crisis we thought we hedged against, that natural disaster, or that car accident- eventually we are painfully reminded that a curse is devouring this world. But for us who can so easily avoid so much pain, this can come as a shock to our system. It can rock our faith. "Why am I going through this? Why does this stuff happen? I thought that's what we had God for."

And so, like Mary, we tell Jesus — "look at what's going on." And often he does do things. And often he doesn't do what we hoped for. Why? Because, as one preacher recently put it, what we are really praying and hoping for is what Jesus will bring at his coming, at Kingdom come. And though Jesus' how has come —he has endured the cross and been exalted and is subjugating the enemies — our hour hasn't come. As with Jesus, it is only through the cross that we get the crown, only through many tribulations that we enter the Kingdom.

Maybe that's the significance of John counting out days as he does its chapters 1-2. It's odd for John to be so concerned with chronology, yet he counts out days (1:29,35, 43; 2:1) and this wedding happens on the 6th day of this chronology. And when the Sabbath is mentioned in John 5, Jesus is working! Maybe the point is to say this: the Sabbath rest of the Kingdom of God hasn't come yet. 

And when Jesus is raised in John it is on the first day of the week into a garden. It is the beginning of a new week of new creation, of new work. The hour for rest and for Kingdom come is not yet. Like Jesus' mother, we must keep nudging him, keep praying until that great day.

JESUS PROVIDES BETTER WINE IN ABUNDANCE (2:6-12)

Though it is not yet Jesus' hour, he gives a first fruits taste of what his how would bring that his disciples wouldn't soon forget. We often focus on how Jesus turned water to wine, but John doesn't. Notice verses 6-12. Notice how John emphasizes two odd details.

First, Jesus doesn't use the original wine jars, instead, he tells the servants to fill six massive jars with water. Now, what's funny here is that completely nullifies anyone's ability to practice Jewish ritual purification since these were purification jars. This is like if we ran out of wine and Jesus said, "Fill the baptistry!" The baptistry would be useless for baptisms — only for drinking wine. This is Jesus' not-so-subtle way of commenting on the usefulness of their ritual cleansings. But, it is also Jesus' way of providing ridiculous amounts of wine: 120-180 gallons of it. There is now an overabundance. They wouldn't run out again.

Second, notice the reaction to the wine. The master of the feast calls the bridegroom to him — by the way, he gives credit to the wrong bridegroom — and says, "You have kept the good wine until the end." The meaning is that Jesus’ wine was even better than the good wine served at the beginning of this feast.

Listen, it is cool that Jesus turned water to wine. None of us can do that. But the real point we are supposed to see here is a hope-renewing picture: the wine and God's blessings had dried up, a curse devours the earth, but Jesus brings the better wine of God's Kingdom in abundance. Jesus manifested his glory, not by simply converting water to wine, but by giving those who were paying attention a taste of that great day when we will feast with our great God in his Kingdom.

OUR TASTE OF THAT GREAT DAY

As I read this, I think," How cool would it have been to be at that wedding to get a small taste of what that great feast will be like at the coming of the Lord. What will it be like when we recline at table with our Lord and with his saints in his Kingdom Thanks to the Lord Jesus, we do get to taste that now.  Do you ever wonder why Paul says we eat the bread and drink the cup, proclaiming Jesus' death until he comes? (Cf. 1Cor. 11:26)

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record Jesus telling us why. Notice Matthew 26:29. "I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom." As we eat, we memorialize what Jesus did in the past on the cross. We have a covenant with God and each other, so we discern ourselves now. And, we eat a little now in anticipation of that great day when we will feast with our Lord at his coming, in our Father's Kingdom. This now is a taste of that great day.

But, we must remember now that this day would never come if our Lord wouldn't have gone to the cross. Mary wanted that feast to end without any loss, but the only reason we will ever enjoy that feast - that day when we will never lack anything is because our Lord experienced that loss for us. He took the curse on himself, he became a curse — and now we are free. What a great Savior we have who gave so much so God could give us everything!

So, remember the Lord. Eat now in anticipation of the feast to come. Eat in honor of the one who makes it all possible.

Series: 1 Samuel (The Coming King)

Service: Sun PM

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Scott Kercheville

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matt. 7:21–23 ESV)

Do you ever get the feeling like some of the things God tells us to do aren't that big of a deal? Maybe the instruction is only mentioned once or twice. Maybe it seems to be an odd instruction. Maybe no one else around you actually practices this instruction. It's not that you don't obey the LORD. But this instruction doesn't seem quite right, so you cast it aside.

Israel had been enduring hundreds of years of the "dark ages" because of sin, but they had a king that was trusting God and conquering their enemies. And it seemed that God was finally going to deal the final blow to Israel's ancient enemies and bring them into a new golden age. In our account today Saul almost obeys God completely, but yet again caves to pressures and makes the very mistake we are talking about... and as a result, Saul and Israel lose so much.

The Story (1 Samuel 15)

Samuel came to Saul and told him, "Remember, Yahweh sent me to anoint you as king over his people; now, listen to the words of Yahweh: I remember what Amalek did when Israel left Egypt. Now, go and strike Amalek destroy everything they have - when you destroy everything, it will be an offering to Yahweh. Don't spare them. Kill man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camel, and donkey."

God calls Saul and Israel to be the executors of divine justice, and it's not easy to read. How could God tell Saul to do such a thing? First, as followers of Yahweh, we are agreeing to trust and obey Yahweh's voice whether or not it makes sense to us. Second, there is never anything easy about the few times God tells Israel to do this - it is awful - and yet, there is logic here. Amalek descended from Esau, so they were brothers with Israel. They showed they had no fear of God nor respect for people when they attacked Israel on their way out of Egypt. Now, they have had 300 years to think on it and amend their ways... and they are no different. Samuel describes them in verse 18 as "sinners- "and before he kills King Agag, Samuel describes him as one who has made women childless. Amalek has been producing snakes for hundreds of years and God is ready to end that now. Third, it isn't easy, but if God didn't destroy them completely, but continued allowing Amalek to make women childless, what kind of God would he be?

And so Saul jumped into action. He summoned 219000 soldiers and they slew every Amalekite they saw. Except king Agag. But they killed many of the animals, except of course the good ones. They destroyed everything that was worthless in Amalek.

The word of Yahweh came to Samuel," I regret making Saul King. He has turned back from following me. He has not performed my commands. "And Samuel was... angry. He cried to the LORD all night about it. Samuel went to Saul the next day and Saul said, "I have performed the command of Yahweh.'" To which Samuel replied, "Oh yeah? If you listened to tahueh's voice, why do I hear the voice of sheep and the voice of oxen in my ears?"

Saul blamed the people, "They are the ones - they took them to sacrifice to Yahweh your God... but the rest we did destroy!" Samuel had heard enough. "Stop! The Lord told me what happened. Though you are small in your eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king and thetas sent you on a mission to destroy those sinners-the Amalekites. Why didn't you obey the voice of Yahweh? Why did you pounce on the spoil?"

Saul replied a second time, "I have obeyed Yahweh's voice. I have gone on the mission the Lord told me to go on. I have spared Agag, but I destroyed everyone else. The people took the best of the spoil to sacrifice to Yahweh!" That sounds pretty good, right? Let's be honest, we know the story so we know it is wrong, but if it were us, would we see any different from Saul?

So Samuel shoots it straight to Saul and to us: "Does the LORD love sacrifices more than when you obey his voice? Look! Obedience is better than sacrifice, To listen is better than the fat of rams. Rebellion is as bad as witchcraft, Arrogance is the same as idolatry. You have rejected Yahweh's word, so he has rejected you as king."

Finally, Saul admits, "Okay, I have sinned. I disobeyed the command of the Lord and your voice. I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Alright, now, pardon my sin and return with me to bow before the Lord." But Samuel refused and as he walked away Saul grabbed his robe and it tore. So Samuel turned and said, "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you and given It to your neighbor who is better than you. The Glory of Israel will not change his mind - he isn't like people who lie and have regret."

And yet, Saul seemed to still not grasp the gravity of what he had done, so he said, "I know I sinned, but come and honor me before the elders and then we can go worship together." But — though our English translations give the sense that Samuel went with him - Samuel turned from Saul. He would not worship the Loris with this man.

Now, King Agag thought he had escaped death, and he said cheerfully to Samuel, "Surely, the bitterness of death is past!" But Samuel retorted," As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless," and he hacked A gag to pieces as an offering to the LORD. And Samuel left. He never saw Saul again (until after he died). But Samuel grieved and grieved over Saul. And God regretted Saul.

Applications

One of the clearest contrasts in Samuel is between David and Saul. As God seeks to establish his own kingship in Israel to protect and care for them, David will later show himself to be more willing to bow before the LORD and correct his sins. About 5 years ago when we looked at 2nd Corinthians 7, we also considered this chapter and distinguished godly repentance from worldly repentance. Feel free to listen to that sermon to reflect more on that subject.

Yet, what struck me more this time was not how poor Saul's repentance was, but this question: why did he disobey in the first place? And why does he seem to genuinely not see why Samuel is so upset here? Saul's mistake here does not come from someone who appears to our eyes to have completely rejected God's voice, and yet, that's how Samuel treats him. If we explore what led Saul to this, I think we will be able to uncover some subtle areas of serious danger in our own lives.

Why does Saul not get it? Why is he not upset like Samuel?

1. Because he did mostly obey God's command.

The text says they devoted all the people to destruction. And they devoted nearly every­thing else to destruction in Amalek. No, they didn't get it all done, but they put in a good day's work. And Saul seems to be genuinely confused-saying twice that he DID obey God's voice. Why? Because he did 90% of what God said. When we obey 90% of what God tells us to do but decide in our hearts that he will be okay with that, God says," too have rejected my voice." And yet — this should alarm us: our minds more naturally say," I have obeyed his voice, get over it, I only left out a little."

It may be tough to understand God here, so let's step into his shoes for a moment: you hire someone to paint your house, they spend hours upon hours sweating and painting and then they tell you they have completed the job. You walk in to find they painted the whole house, but didn't edge in. We would be incredulous! Why is it tough to see God feels the same way? Maybe it's because our will seems a little more important than his.

2. Because he disobeyed in favor of extra service to God.

Saul says it twice in verses 15 and 21 and he seems to be genuinely confused at Samuel's reaction: don't you understand that the people spared the best of everything in order to sacrifice them to the Lord at Gilgal? Samuel, God, you should be a little more appreciative of what we have done here. But note Samuel's reply in us. 22," Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams." God says, "I want you to listen carefully and obey more than all the extra sacrifices," and yet, I think somehow our minds are drawn to not believe him. Yes, I know I didn't do this, but look at what I have done!"

• It reminds me of what Jesus said in Matthew 7:22-23, “Did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?” 
• If we ask someone to paint our house grey and they fail to paint the edges, it doesn't help if they painted large pink poka-dots and added an accent wall in each room.
• We may make great sacrifices, give a lot, serve a lot, cross the sea preaching or serving, and even exercise miraculous gifts for Christ's honor, but if we disregard God's law - if we are lawless - it changes nothing.

3. Because he feared people more than God.

Saul had some fear of God-otherwise he wouldn't have gone on this mission at all. And yet-whether Saul is telling the truth or not-he said this whole thing was the people's idea, and he went along with it because he feared their voice. It is the same thing both Adam and Aaron did. (Later, asked Samuel to honor)

Part of the challenge here is to us when we have some form of leadership - notice vest. Maybe you are a father or a mother, a husband, a teacher, a deacon, an elder or an evangelist - wherever we have been appointed over people, this can be a real challenge. Who likes telling people-your kids or your chords:" this isn't right"? There is a need for humility when leading people. And yet, when the people in or care are disregarding God's instructions, God has put us in this position to stop them from doing what is right in their own eyes. He has put us here because that's what people will do. We will stay on the right track when we fear God more than people.

4. Because he didn't recognize the gravity of his sin.

Even after Saul admitted what he had done, he seemed to think an apology was good enough to allow him to return to worship the LORD. That's because he didn't let Samuel's words in vs. 23 sink in. We might think idolatry and witchcraft are the worst one can do... Samuel says that what Saul did here, quietly and arrogantly ignoring God's voice, was just as bad.

Oh, that we would classify sin in the way God does-it would help us fear him more. Then we would see that it is less about what we did and more about whether we were consciously thinking little of God's words. Rebellion and arrogance-presuming we know better... it is as idolatry.

5. Because he didn't see the longterm consequences of his sin.

I always thought Saul did most of the job here, but after this, you keep finding the people of Ama lek and Agag causing trouble. In 1 Samuel 30, we find they took a bunch of women, children, and possessions captive from a city in Israel. And that's just the start. God's command," Destroy them all, "seemed merciless because we don't understand... what is merciless is to keep the sinners alive and allow them to wreck havoc on God's world.

Speaking of longterm consequences, why is Samuel so upset? (15:11, 35, 16:1) Probably many reasons. Remember, the Israel Samuel grew up in was a dark place where the leaders of the people gave no need to the voice of Yahweh. As a result, God destroyed Shiloh, God's glory departed Israel, and Israel was plunged into darkness and affliction for years. Remember, Samuel went into this king thing unwillingly - he had judged Israel righteously for decade upon decade... Seeking righteousness, turning the people toward Yahweh continually. Yet, Yahweh told him to obey the voice of the people and to make Saul King. Now, as an old man, he is seeing the same kind of disregard for God's voice that he saw as a child, the same disregard that plunged Israel into darkness, the same darkness he worked to bring them out of. But there may be even more here. Back in Numbers 24:17-24 — Balaam had prophesied that one from Israel would rise, exercise dominion, and crush the enemies of Israel-including Moab, Edom, and A male K. It's possible Samuel thought he would anoint the king who would do all that. Now he has to grapple with the reality that he would not yet see the future he hoped for. So, yeah, he's upset. He is probably upset with God that things have gotten to this point; upset with Saul for disobeying; upset for what this will mean for Israel. To make matters worse, Saul is jovial and doesn't grasp what his sin has done.

Some people partially obey, partially disobey God thinking that it effects no one and that the people at the church or abroad don't really care. I can't say the speak for everyone, but I can speak for myself and anyone else here who prays "your Kingdom come": it is really discouraging. And yet all our hope is renewed when that same person turns to confess, "I haven't respected God's voice as I ought to.”

And so Samuel was discouraged, but what he didn't know is that he really would - in the very next chapter anoint the king who would crush these enemies, a king whose son world usher in a new age of peace and prosperity and trust in God that Israel had never seen. And though that age went into disarray because of sin, John the Baptist has baptized and proclaimed good news of the true king, the true son of David who always listens to God’s voice, the one who-at his second coming - will not spare the unrighteous and who will usher in the age and world to come permanently. Just as Samuel and John faced discouraging times, we will too - we are living in between this age and the age to come - but we have assurance by the resurrection of Jesus that God's promises are certain. They are yes. He will be faithful. They will continue, no matter what knuckleheads like Saul do. Let us carefully respect God's voice as he speaks to us through Scripture. Let us endure until the day when our faith becomes sight.

Series: N/A

Service: Sun PM

Type: Sermon

Speaker: John Kilgore

Series: N/A

Service: Sun AM

Type: Sermon

Speaker: John Kilgore

Series: N/A

Service: Sun AM

Type: Sermon

Speaker: John Kilgore