Appleton Gospel Church

A New Temple: Separation from God and from other people can be hopelessly painful. But the gospel destroys all barriers and puts to death all hostility. Why? Because God is building a new temple, made up of all kinds of people, whose lives are built on Christ and aligned with his word. Recorded on May 19, 2024, on Ephesians 2:11-22 by Justun Hart.

Our series, Ephesians: The Gospel in Life, serves as an epilogue to Finding Life in Jesus’ Name from John’s gospel. The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians reveals much about how the life found by faith in Jesus actually works. This series will touch on themes of grace, identity, purpose, family, the church, spiritual warfare, and more. If you’re considering the life of Jesus or if you’re ready to follow him today, this series is for you.

Saved By Grace: What does it actually mean to be “saved” in a Christian sense? The Biblical picture of life in this broken world is bleak — that apart from Christ, we are spiritually dead. Is there any hope? Yes! The gospel says that because of God's love and mercy, salvation is offered as a gracious gift to be received by faith. The gospel changes everything. Recorded on May 12, 2024, on Ephesians 2:1-10 by Pastor David Parks.

Our series, Ephesians: The Gospel in Life, serves as an epilogue to Finding Life in Jesus’ Name from John’s gospel. The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians reveals much about how the life found by faith in Jesus actually works. This series will touch on themes of grace, identity, purpose, family, the church, spiritual warfare, and more. If you’re considering the life of Jesus or if you’re ready to follow him today, this series is for you.

Sermon Transcript

Well, for the next few months, we’ll be working through a sermon series called The Gospel in Life from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians in the Bible. If you missed either of the first few sermons, you can always go back and watch or listen to the podcast to catch up if you’d like. But today, we’re going to try and stare into the sun for the next 30 minutes or so. Today, from one of the most important passages in the whole Bible, we’re going to consider the heart of Christian salvation. What does it actually mean to be “saved” in a Christian sense? Just what is it that God saves us from? How has he saved us? And what has he saved us for? Well, in case you’re thinking, “I don’t really need this message. I’m already a Christian.” just remember, Paul is writing to Christians, to his brothers and sisters in Christ, in Ephesus. They’d already heard and believed the gospel. But today, in Ephesians 2, we’ll see that everybody needs the gospel, even Christians. We never graduate from our need for the gospel. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to Ephesians 2:1.

Ephesians 2:1–2 (NIV), “1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” “As for you” probably refers to the gentile Christians in the church at Ephesus, but he’s not leaving himself or Paul’s fellow Jews from the need for the gospel, as we’ll see shortly. But here, Paul starts with the bad news. “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.” What does this mean? Well, a transgression simply means crossing a line that shouldn’t be crossed. You commit a transgression when you drive your car through a guardrail on the highway — that never ends well. A moral transgression would be crossing a line that God has drawn, breaking a command of God, such as lying, cheating, stealing, coveting what isn’t yours, dishonoring your parents, and so on. These are all transgressions, but sin is very similar. The word for sin was originally an archery term meaning falling short of the mark. In Christian thought, sin means falling short of God’s standard for what is right in thought, word, or deed. Jesus taught that the whole Law could be summed up in two commands: first, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And the second, to love your neighbor as yourself. So sin means falling short in some way in our love for God or our love for others. Now, everyone knows that transgressions and sins are bad. God made human beings with a conscience. You don’t have to be a Bible scholar to know right from wrong. But here’s the real problem: Paul says that if you cross a line you shouldn’t cross or if you fall short of what’s right, it’s not just that you’re guilty, and it’s not just that you ought to be ashamed — it’s that you’re dead. You might be physically alive, but you’re spiritually dead. You’re a cut flower. You might even look quite youthful/beautiful on the...

Incomparably Great Power: Do you want to grow in your faith, no matter what your circumstances are? You need to understand what you've been given in Christ. Paul prays the Ephesians would know the hope of their calling, the riches of their inheritance, and the incomparably great power they have been given in Christ. Recorded on May 5, 2024, on Ephesians 1:15-23 by Pastor David Parks.

Our series, Ephesians: The Gospel in Life, serves as an epilogue to Finding Life in Jesus’ Name from John’s gospel. The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians reveals much about how the life found by faith in Jesus actually works. This series will touch on themes of grace, identity, purpose, family, the church, spiritual warfare, and more. If you’re considering the life of Jesus or if you’re ready to follow him today, this series is for you.

Sermon Transcript

So, last week, we started a new sermon series called The Gospel in Life from the book of Ephesians in the Bible. And we started with the truth that the Christian life is, first and foremost, a life of worship. Today, we’ll consider the first of two prayers of Paul in his letter. In this first prayer, we see not only the fruit of what God is doing in their church but also how Paul prays for them to continue to grow in their faith. Do you want to know how to grow in your faith? Do you ever read the Bible and wonder, why doesn’t my life look more like this?? Do you want more hope and more spiritual power, no matter what your circumstances are? This message is for you. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to Ephesians 1:15.

Ephesians 1:15–16 (NIV), “15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.” So, the Apostle Paul is writing a letter here to his friends, who are mostly Gentile believers in the city of Ephesus. Paul had planted this church about ten years earlier and is now writing back to them when he was under house arrest in Rome. Last week, we saw that after the initial greeting, he started the body of the letter with a doxology or an invitation to worship. And we saw that the reason he was inviting the Ephesians to worship the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ because of the gospel — which is the good news of who God is, what he’s done in the past, what he’s doing today, and what he’s promised for our future in Christ. We saw that this gospel reveals the truly cosmic nature of God’s plan, the only rational response being to live lives of worship to the praise of his glory. Here, in v. 15, Paul moves from doxology to prayer. “For this reason,” meaning, in light of the grand scope of the gospel, from eternity to eternity, Paul has not stopped giving thanks to God for the Ephesians, “remembering you in my prayers.” But why? Why is Paul so thankful? He says that he heard some good things about them. He heard about their “faith in the Lord Jesus.” Paul spent almost three years in Ephesus. He probably knew many of the people who were in the church there, except for those who came to faith after he left. And as a good shepherd, Paul would’ve cared deeply for them. Like a good mom or dad would want the best for their kids, so Paul would’ve wanted the best for them. At some point, someone brought him a report of their faith, and he was overjoyed. They do believe, Paul! They believe in the gospel, they trust in Jesus, and they follow his way — even in the mostly pagan city of Ephesus. How do you know? Because of their love for all God’s people. Now, the phrase “God’s people” here literally means “holy ones,” which is where, in church history, we got the term “the saints.” But saints in the Bible aren’t exceptional, superhero-like Christians. Saints are just regular old Christians who have faith in the Lord Jesus and who love one another. If you’re a Christian today, you, too, are a saint.

The Gospel for the Ephesians: Why should we worship? Paul opens his letter to the Ephesians with a doxology, or a call to worship, in response to the cosmic scope of God's plan in Christ. When we see the loving work of the Father, Son, and Spirit, from eternity to eternity, saving and transforming adopted sons and daughters in Christ — how can we help but give glory to God? Recorded on Apr 28, 2024, on Ephesians 1:1-14 by Pastor David Parks.

Our series, Ephesians: The Gospel in Life, serves as an epilogue to Finding Life in Jesus’ Name from John’s gospel. The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians reveals much about how the life found by faith in Jesus actually works. This series will touch on themes of grace, identity, purpose, family, the church, spiritual warfare, and more. If you’re considering the life of Jesus or if you’re ready to follow him today, this series is for you.

Sermon Transcript

So, last week, we finished our series, Finding Life in Jesus’ Name, from John’s gospel. It took us 44 weeks, but we made it! And we said that John was all about finding life in Jesus’ name. Well, today, we’re starting a 14-week series called The Gospel in Life from the book of Ephesians in the Bible. I see this series as a fitting next step to John’s gospel because Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is all about what life looks like that is found by faith in Jesus’ name. And the first answer in Ephesians is that the Christian life is, first and foremost, a life of worship. Why do we meet every week for worship? Why do we sing songs of praise and pray/serve/give day by day? Have you ever wondered about that? When I was a kid, I was raised in the church, so I didn’t think much of it. It was just what we did. But in my twenties, I was invited to be on a teaching team at our church and started to preach every few months. I immediately agreed, but later, I thought, “Wait, what are we trying to do here? What’s the purpose of preaching? What’s the purpose of worship?” Our text today starts to answer these questions. But it’s like opening up a vault filled with priceless treasures, each deserving our utmost attention. After the opening greeting, we find the longest and maybe one of the most important sentences in all of Paul’s writing. This sentence is so densely packed with the riches of who God is and the fully cosmic scope of the gospel we’ll need the rest of our lives to explore it (even then, I don’t think we’ll run out of things to discover). Instead, today, we’ll get more of a 30,000 ft. view of this famous text and all its astonishing reasons for us to worship. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to Ephesians 1:1.

Ephesians 1:1-2 (NIV), “1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” The book of Ephesians was originally an epistle or letter, which followed the common format for letters back in the first century AD. It begins with a greeting, which states that this letter is from the Apostle Paul, who says his apostleship came by the will of God. Now, this statement is true of every apostle (and, incidentally, anyone called into church leadership), but this seems especially true for Paul if you know his story. We studied the life of Paul almost exactly one year ago, so if you’d like to go back and watch or listen to those sermons, you can. At any rate, Paul was writing this letter to whom? To “God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus.” In other words, he was writing to the Christians in Ephesus. Now, some early manuscripts do not have the words “in Ephesus,” so some scholars believe this letter was intended to be shared with other churches in other cities as well. Whether or not that’s true, it does make sense with the general nature of the letter. It doesn’t address a specific issue in Ephesus or mention anyone by name there,

Jesus and Peter: John ends his gospel with a beautiful story of restoration. In the shadow of the cross, Peter had utterly failed Jesus — when Jesus most needed a friend. How would Jesus respond to him? With shame? Or punishment? Instead, Jesus restored Peter in friendship and his calling as an apostle and shepherd of his people. Once again, in loving forgiveness, Jesus told Peter, "Follow me!" Recorded on Apr 21, 2024, on John 21:15-25 by Pastor David Parks.

Finding Life in Jesus’ Name is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt unsatisfied with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the full. Jesus turned John’s life upside down, and John claims this new life — marked by God’s power, presence, and purpose — is available for all who believe.

Sermon Transcript

Since last July, we’ve been working through The Gospel According to John in a series called Finding Life in Jesus’ Name. It took us 44 weeks! But today, we’re going to bring this series to a close in John 21. Next week, we’ll start a new series on the letter to the Ephesians called The Gospel in Life, which will run for the next three months. John was all about finding life in Jesus’ name, and Ephesians is all about what the life looks like that is found by faith in Jesus’ name. Incidentally, the Apostle John finished his ministry in Ephesus, so I think it’s fitting for us as well. But today, we’ll consider the beautiful restoration of Peter after his repeated denial of Jesus only a few weeks earlier. Have you ever done something so bad you weren’t sure if you would ever recover? Or have you been struggling with something for so many years that you’re about ready to give up on yourself? How do you think Jesus would treat you if you could talk with him face to face? I think it would look something like what happened between Jesus and Peter at the end of John’s gospel. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to John 21:15.

John 21:15–17 (NIV), “15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” 16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” 17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” Ok, let’s pause here. Last week, we worked through the third appearance of Jesus Christ after he had risen from the dead. He appeared to seven disciples along the shores of Galilee while they were fishing. He provided a miraculous catch of fish to represent the work of the gospel — that there would be a great harvest. But also, Jesus made them breakfast because he wanted to spend time with them. It’s really a stunning thought: that Jesus would not just care for his disciples in general but that after his resurrection from the dead, after all authority in heaven and earth had been given to him, he would still want this kind of personal relationship with them. Even after giving his life to save them from sin and death, he was still loving and serving them in humble ways. Our passage starts immediately after this. John says that after they had finished eating, Jesus started this line of questioning with Peter. “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” More than what/who? Do you love me more than the miraculous catch of fish? More than these things of the world? More than the other disciples? That would’ve been awkward, right? “Peter,

The Miraculous Catch (A Bonus Sign of Harvest): Have you ever wondered why you are here? Have you ever wondered what meaning or purpose there might be for your life? In the story of the miraculous catch, Jesus revealed that we are invited to join his work in the world — and there will be a great harvest. He doesn't need us, but he wants us. And nothing could add more meaning or purpose to life. Recorded on Apr 14, 2024, on John 21:1-14 by Pastor David Parks.

Finding Life in Jesus’ Name is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt unsatisfied with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the full. Jesus turned John’s life upside down, and John claims this new life — marked by God’s power, presence, and purpose — is available for all who believe.

Sermon Transcript

Since last July, we’ve been working through The Gospel According to John in a series called Finding Life in Jesus’ Name, and today, we start the final chapter. As I mentioned last week, after John, we’re going to start the book of Ephesians because John was all about finding life in Jesus’ name. And the book of Ephesians is all about what this life looks like. But today, we’re going to consider the miraculous catch, which I see as something like a bonus sign of harvest. As one of the wings of the art gallery that is John’s gospel, John curated seven miraculous signs that Jesus performed, which revealed his glory and helped his disciples to believe that he was the Messiah and the Son of God. Of course, none of the seven (turning water into wine, feeding the five thousand, or walking on the water) compare to the greatest miracle, which was the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. But here, in the epilogue of chapter 21 (last week, I compared it to the gift shop at the end of the gallery), John gives us one more. A bonus sign. A sign that would point ahead to the mission of God and the work of the gospel in the age of the church. Have you ever wondered why you are here? Have you ever wondered what meaning/purpose there might be to your life? Everyone asks these questions at certain points in their lives. In our passage today, John reveals one of the Bible’s greatest answers to our questions of meaning and purpose. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to John 21:1. We’ll read through this and unpack it as we go.

John 21:1–3 (NIV), “1 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.” Ok, let’s pause here. So, our story takes place sometime after the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Jesus had first appeared to Mary Magdalene, then to Peter and the other disciples (minus Thomas the twin), and then to Thomas a week later, which is what we considered last week. Now, scholars are divided about why Peter decided to go fishing here. On the night of the arrest of Jesus, Peter denied even knowing Jesus not once but three times, just as Jesus knew he would. So, after this terrible failure of faith, was Peter giving up? Had he decided to go back to his old job as a fisherman? I don’t think so. We know that Peter was a witness first to the empty tomb and then to the risen Jesus. And he’s still with the other disciples, with Thomas, who had confessed that Jesus was both Lord and God, Nathanael, James and John, the Sons of Zebedee, and the others. I don’t think Peter was giving up. He wasn’t walking away from Jesus.

How to Struggle with Doubt: Have you wondered, does God really exist? Can we really trust what the Bible says? Did Jesus really rise from the dead? Every believer, at certain times in life, will struggle with doubts. But Jesus didn't punish or shame his followers for their questions or doubts. The story of Jesus and Thomas reveals how we might deal with our doubts. Recorded on Apr 7, 2024, on John 20:24-31 by Pastor David Parks.

Finding Life in Jesus’ Name is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt unsatisfied with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the full. Jesus turned John’s life upside down, and John claims this new life — marked by God’s power, presence, and purpose — is available for all who believe.

Sermon Transcript

Since last July, we’ve been working through The Gospel According to John in a series called Finding Life in Jesus’ Name, and after today, we only have two weeks left! As sort of an epilogue to John, we’ll go through the book of Ephesians next because John was all about finding life in Jesus’ name, as we’ll see today. The book of Ephesians is all about what this life in Christ looks like. But today, one week after celebrating the greatest event in human history, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, we’ll consider how to struggle with doubt. When I was growing up in the church, I don’t think anyone taught me this explicitly, but I had the impression that doubts were sort of inappropriate to admit. We walk by faith and not sight, right? So, isn’t doubt the evidence of a lack of faith? But does faith mean we’ll never have any doubts? Have you wondered, does God really exist? Or, can we really trust what the Bible says? Or, what about the miracles; are we really supposed to believe that God parted the Red Sea or that Jesus walked on the water or calmed the storm? Did Jesus really rise from the dead? If you’ve ever had questions like these, you’re in good company. Every believer, at certain times in their life, will struggle to believe. And you might think that seeing a miracle such as Jesus rising from the dead would cast out every question/doubt. But it doesn’t. Even in the face of the overwhelming evidence of who Jesus was, the first followers had questions and doubts; they still struggled to believe at times. But, as we’ll see today, Jesus didn’t punish them for their questions; he didn’t shame them for their doubt. In the story of Jesus and Thomas, we see that Jesus loved and served Thomas, even in his doubts, and it led to a much stronger faith. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to John 20:24. We’ll read through this and unpack it as we go.

John 20:24–25 (NIV), “24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Ok, let’s pause here. So, last week, we saw that the first witness to the resurrection was Mary Magdalene, who recognized Jesus when he called her by name. “Mary.” Jesus sent Mary to tell his other disciples, including Peter and John and the others. After she told them she had seen the Lord, later that same day, Jesus appeared among them, and they saw for themselves he was alive. We know that Judas wasn’t among them because he had killed himself after betraying Jesus. But from this passage, John tells us that another one of the Twelve was missing when Jesus appeared. Can you imagine that? I picture Thomas coming back from the grocery store, like, “Wait, who did I miss?!?” Thomas essentially says,

Called By Name (Easter 2024): There’s something so powerful about being called by name. When Jesus Christ rose from the dead, the first eyewitness was his friend, Mary Magdalene. But Mary didn't recognize Jesus until he called her name. "Mary." When God calls us by name, his calling changes everything. Recorded on March 31, 2024, on John 20:1-23 by Pastor David Parks.

Finding Life in Jesus’ Name is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt unsatisfied with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the full. Jesus turned John’s life upside down, and John claims this new life — marked by God’s power, presence, and purpose — is available for all who believe.

Sermon Transcript

All year, we’re working through The Gospel According to John in a series called Finding Life in Jesus’ Name. Today, we’ll consider the meaning of the empty tomb from John chapter 20. Now, one of the features of the account of the resurrection in John is when Jesus calls Mary Magdalene by name. “Mary.” There’s something so powerful about being called by name. If you’ve ever had someone use your middle name when calling you by name, that probably wasn’t a good thing. You were probably in trouble. I still get a “David Elliott” from Holly every so often. Years ago, at the first pastor’s conference I attended before Appleton Gospel started, I went to dinner with some of the national leaders of the EFCA, the denomination we’re part of. There were maybe 50-60 people there, and I didn’t think anyone knew who I was. But then, the president of the EFCA announced that before dinner, David Parks was going to come up and pray in Korean. I froze. I hadn’t met the president, and I didn’t know how he knew my name, much less how he expected me to pray in Korean. But thankfully, before I did anything, a Korean man named David Park, who was a pastor in California, went to the front and led us in a beautiful Korean prayer. After dinner, I introduced myself and shared my moment of panic, and we laughed about it together. But other than that, normally, being called by name means someone knows you, someone sees you, and possibly someone loves you. But is that what you picture when you think about God? As someone who knows you, sees you, and loves you? As someone who calls you by name? Or does God feel far off and removed from your life? I’ve had seasons like that. Do you feel like you’ve been struggling through life without much help? Or that you’ve been trying hard to be a good person and aren’t sure what God thinks about you? Well, this message is for you. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to John 20. We’ll read through this and unpack it as we go.

John 20:1–10 (NIV), “1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they we...

The Cross (Good Friday 2024): Ironically, during Jesus' trial and suffering, he was questioned, mocked, and abused for being the King. In his humiliating death on the cross, Jesus proved to be the perfect Passover sacrifice. Why did Jesus endure all this? It was all for you. Recorded on March 29, 2024, on John 18:28 - 19:42 by Pastor David Parks.

Finding Life in Jesus’ Name is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt unsatisfied with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the full. Jesus turned John’s life upside down, and John claims this new life — marked by God’s power, presence, and purpose — is available for all who believe.

Sermon Transcript

John 18:28–40 (NIV), “28 Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. 29 So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?” 30 “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.” 31 Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” “But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. 32 This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die. 33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” 34 “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?” 35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?” 36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” 37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” 38 “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. 39 But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?” 40 They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.” As Justun mentioned last week, the Jewish religious leaders had illegally arrested, tried, and falsely condemned Jesus. However, as subjects of the Roman Empire, they didn’t have the authority to kill him — only Roman soldiers could do that. So, the trial moved from the high priest’s house to the house of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. Ironically, John points out that the religious leaders wanted to avoid becoming ceremonially unclean while having an innocent man put to death. Again, ironically, Pilate spoke better than he knew when he said, “You are a king, then!” He wasn’t really confessing faith in Jesus, but what he said was true. Jesus was the King. But here, Jesus moved the conversation from his kingly authority to the truth of his message. If Pilate were truly a seeker, this would’ve been the perfect opportunity for him to hear the gospel. But sadly, Pilate played the cynical politician, rejecting Jesus’ claim to the truth (and maybe all truth claims: “What is truth?”). Even so, Pilate didn’t find any basis to execute Jesus, but he knew he had a hot political situation here. He tried to get Jesus released because of the Passover, but the crowd, no doubt led by the Jewish leaders, called for Barabbas, an actual criminal, instead.

John 19:1–16a (NIV),

The Beginning of the End: What should we do when life isn't fair? For the Christian, it helps to see that in his arrest, trial, and condemnation — and, of course, in his death on the cross — Jesus didn't get what he deserved. He got what we deserved. None of this was fair. But in the injustice of the Great Exchange, in taking our death and giving us his life, we have everything we need to endure and indeed flourish, even in our failings. Recorded on Mar 24, 2024, on John 18:1-27 by Justun Hart.

Finding Life in Jesus’ Name is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt unsatisfied with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the full. Jesus turned John’s life upside down, and John claims this new life — marked by God’s power, presence, and purpose — is available for all who believe.