Good morning, Church! My name is Trent Houck, and I am one of the pastors here at Faith Community Bible Church. I want to invite you to turn in your Bibles to Colossians 1:24-29. As you are turning there, I want to mention that I am deeply grateful for Steve and Ryan, who have taken us to the text the past four weeks. They have served us well and set us up for this week in numerous ways. We are publishing the preacher and the text each week in the Newsletter so that you can pray for the preacher, read the Text, prepare your heart to hear the word. We hope that you are taking advantage of that!

Let's hear God's word:

Colossians 1:24-29,

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

Let's pray:

Heavenly Father, we come before you this morning as a Church to hear from your Word. We want to hear, understand, and apply your word. So, we pray that your name would be hallowed in the preaching of your word. We ask that you would be magnified. Open our minds to receive what comes from your hand.

Jesus, you are the hope of glory! We praise you for your sinless life, your atoning death, and for beating death through your resurrection. We pray this morning that you would make your indwelling presence known to us. Demonstrate to us just how near you are. Minister to each of our hearts in ways that only you can.

Holy Spirit, we know that without you, our work is powerless. We ask that you would empower the preaching of your word. Empower the hearing of your word. Illuminate our minds to understand and receive your truth so that we will be changed to conform to the image of Christ. We pray these things in his name, amen.

My main point this morning is that Christ's indwelling presence in the life of the believer is the hope of glory. My main aim and hope this morning is that you are able to see how the Christ that we have been preaching these past four weeks is not only the Christ who is outside of you, far and above you, sovereign over you, but the Christ who dwells in you. That is to say, the Christ, who existed before time began, the Christ who is the Head of the Church, who beat death; this Christ dwells in every believer and in the Church.

When we are asked the question: where is Jesus now? We should say, 1. He is enthroned at the right hand of the Father in Heaven, above all rule and authority, and by the Holy Spirit 2. He dwells within me and every believer.

So far, in our series in Colossians, we have said four things:

Jesus is enough (Colossians 1:1-8)

Colossians 1:4-5 "We always thank God...since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven."

The Colossians had heard the Gospel preached by Epaphras, and they had believed. So, they have access through Christ to grace. Jesus had taken up residence in them.

Jesus + Nothing=Everything (Colossians 1:9-14)

Colossians 1:13-14 "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Jesus is totally sufficient to accomplish our salvation from beginning to end.

Jesus is Enough for us to know God(Colossians 1:15-20)

Colossians 1:19 "For in him[Jesus] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell…" Knowing God is knowing the fullness of God in Jesus.

Jesus is Enough, but we are not enough (Colossians 1:21-23). 

Colossians 1:23, "...if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard…" Jesus' sufficiency guarantees that we need nothing more than Jesus to persevere in believing.

Today, if we put it in this scheme, we are saying that Christ is enough for you, by living in you! (Colossians 1:24-29).

Scholars debate the nature of the "Colossian Heresy." Some think that it was the beginning stages of Gnosticism, which held that matter was bad, while the spirit was good. Some think that what was creeping in was a form of Jewish mysticism, which required strict adherence to certain practices to achieve nearness to God.

Whatever was going on in Colossae, we can be sure that Epaphras made Paul aware that one or both of Satan's main tactics against the Church was being employed.

So, Paul picked up his pen, and wrote a letter.

Epaphras had been well-taught to see that the Church is always either being seduced by the spirit of the age to conform its values to culture, or it is being persecuted. Persecution can often be easier to tolerate for the Church, because as Tertullian said, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church." Persecution strengthens the Church, and it spreads the Gospel. It doesn't appear that the Colossians were being persecuted. At least not yet.

Seduction, on the other hand, is much more pernicious, gradual, and subtle. We can be sure that if the Church is not facing persecution, it is facing seduction. For the Colossians, this took the form of adding something to Christ. Here are just a few examples of the seduction that the Colossians were experiencing:

Essentially, false teachers were arguing that:

Jesus+Plausible arguments=everything (Col. 2:4)

Jesus+Philosophy, empty deceit, and human traditions=everything (Col. 2:8)

Jesus+Food Laws=Everything (Col. 2:16)

Jesus+Asceticism and Angel Worship=Everything (Col. 2:18)

Jesus+Severity to the Body=Everything (Col. 2:23).

Now, maybe none of these seductive influences seem compelling to you. But, still, we would do well as we look at Colossians to consider what we may be adding to Jesus. The Colossians were a Church of only 10 years, in the small, backwater town of Colossae. When the big guns and city-dwellers came to correct their backwater ways, you can see how compelling this might have been. The Colossians needed to update their theology to get with the times. They were quickly falling out of date with the latest theological trends.

The book of Colossians is written to realign the theological spine of the Colossians to treasure Christ above all other things. And, so it is written for us as well.

So, is our Church, FCBC, facing the same kinds of seduction today? Absolutely! Maybe it doesn't take the same form, but we are certainly not immune from being drawn away from Christ. This is evident in our views of Christ and ourselves:

​​“In 2018 Lifeway Research and Ligonier Ministries released a research project on the state of theology…When asked to agree or disagree with the statement ‘Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God,’ a fourth century heresy known as Arianism, 78 percent of evangelicals agreed…[when asked to respond to the following] ”Everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature,’ a heresy known as Pelagianism, 52 percent of Evangelicals agreed.”

If our theological roots are not dug deep enough into Christ we can be seduced, and even drawn away from Christ. In our staff office, we have a mug that tauts that its owner is "fueled by Jesus & Coffee." Driving out near Star recently, I saw a flag outside someone's house promoting: "God, Guns, and Trump." A student came to Youth Group a few years ago with shirt that said: "Jesus is my Savior; Trump is my president."

"Jesus+Family=Everything."

"Jesus+Homeschooling=everything.

"Jesus+Ministry=Everything."

"Jesus+Church Size=Everything."

"Jesus+Health & Fitness=Everything."

Again, maybe none of these examples are compelling to you, but I would invite you to ask the Lord to search your heart. What are you inclined to place in that blank?

Colossians is inviting us to find our sufficiency in Jesus because he really is sufficient. He is great enough to satisfy our souls completely. What are you hoping for by adding something to Jesus?

The answer to this question is the basic storyline of the Old Testament and human failure in general. From the Garden of Eden, humanity has been manufacturing additional objects of satisfaction to fuel our worship. Here are five examples:

God+the forbidden fruit=Everything (Genesis 3)

God+a Tower in the Heavens=Everything (Gen. 11)

God+a King=Everything (1 Sam. 8)

God+Pagan Worship Practices=Everything (Isaiah 2:8)

God+Spiritual Experiences=Everything (Colossians)

These additional objects of desire or worship are absolutely destructive to our relationship with God and others. They are far more dangerous than we realize. We should be especially wary of the way the devil "paints vices with virtue's colors." That is, our addiction to overwork can easily be reframed as industriousness. When was the last time you took a day off? Likewise, our laziness can easily be reframed as just 'going with the flow'. When was the last time you allowed yourself to be stretched?

We are constantly in danger of seduction in the Church today. Our worship preferences can distract us from Christ. Our preferred podcast preachers can make us deaf to our local church pastor. Our education choices, church choices, and ministry desires can make us discontented and even miserly toward others.

Lest you think that I am merely pointing fingers, please know that God wants to point out the idols of my own heart as much as yours. Let me give an example of just how dangerous ministry is for my own satisfaction in Jesus:

"Charles Taylor Studd (1862-1931)...served as an English evangelical missionary. He wanted to give his whole life to Christ and the spread of the gospel, serving in China, India, and eventually Africa. [A noble, virtuous aim!] Giving up financial and educational privilege, he poured himself out in his work. His belief that Christ gave up everything for him spurred him to practice what he called 'reckless Chrisitanity,' which brought not only heroic stories but also some destructive consequences. His untiring devotion to the work became somewhat fanatical…for example, by the end of his life he was working eighteen hours a day and addicted to morphine. During the last thirteen years of their marriage, he saw his wife for two weeks despite her struggling health, and he even dismissed his daughter and son-in-law from the mission because they did not show the same level of commitment that he did….At one point he admitted, 'My heart seems worn out and bruised beyond repair, and in my deep loneliness I often wish to be gone."

Brothers and sisters, let us search carefully by the light of Christ to see whether or not we may have added something to Christ! Satan is quite content to let our hope slowly suffocate under the pressure of our so-called 'virtues.' Christ alone saves. And he is our hope. Christ in you is the hope of glory. In light of that, here’s our outline for where we’ll be going today:

Suffering in Christ Strengthens Hope (Colossians 1:24).

Serving in Christ is to Steward Hope (Colossians 1:25-26a).

Seeing Christ in you is a Sight of Heaven (Colossians 1:27).

Proclaiming Christ Produces Maturity (Colossians 1:28).

Savoring Christ in others is agonizing (Colossians 1:29).

 

 

First, Suffering in Christ Strengthens Hope. Paul, likely writing from a Roman prison, makes sure that the Colossians know that he is the happiest man alive. Just 2-3 years away from his death at the hands of Nero, Paul makes it very clear that he has his mind and heart set on Christ. He writes,

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church…

In the 21st century, we prize comfort. Just consider the heated seats in your vehicles, or how frustrated we become without air conditioning. Not Paul. Paul says, "Do you know when I am happiest? When I'm suffering." Paul writes in Philippians 4:12, "I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need." Suffering, or pain, as Lewis puts it, is like a megaphone for hearing from God.

So, Paul rejoices in his sufferings because he is united to Christ. Suffering makes that fact more obvious. His sufferings, because they are united to Christ, are both purposeful and meaningful. Paul knows that God is always advancing the mission of his Church, and so, whether he is in chains or in charge, Paul has hope.

All the great heroes of the faith learned to suffer like this. One author writes of John Bunyan, "God's Word, not his circumstances, defined reality for [John] Bunyan. Bunyan demonstrated that a mind set on Christ and serving his people produces a freedom no jail can confine. While in jail Bunyan wrote at least fourteen books and treatises, including Pilgrim's Progress. He left himself little time to think upon his suffering."

Suffering, as an instrument in God's hands, strengthens hope.

Christ cannot be confined or constrained. So, the Christian is free to rejoice. Now, there is a very challenging phrase in this verse that we must deal with: Paul says, "I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions…" Taken by itself, it seems that Paul is putting his own sufferings on the same plain as Christ's sufferings. How is it that Christ's afflictions are lacking? It all depends on how you interpret the words "Christ's afflictions, or the afflictions of Christ."

In what sense are Paul's afflictions Christ's afflictions? I think this phrase is best interpreted as representing that Paul's sufferings are of the same kind as Christ's sufferings in his earthly life, not his atoning death. In other words, Paul says, I am being treated just like Christ was in his life and ministry, and so there is an ongoing vision of Christ suffering, even in my own life. My sufferings don't save you, but they point you to Christ, who does. If two jars are placed in front of you:

Jar One: Christ's sufferings in his earthly life. (Totally Complete)

Jar Two: Christ's sufferings in his people for the sake of the Church (Ongoing)

This is the jar that Paul is referring to.

The Colossians were not witnesses of the sufferings of Christ, but they can see a rich display of what his sufferings were like because of Paul's example.

These are "Christ's Sufferings" in the sense that they continue the work of Christ in the here and now.

So, is your suffering strengthening your hope and the hope of others? Or, is it causing you to complain?  The purpose and meaning of your suffering, and, therefore, your contentment, must be linked to Christ in you. If Christ is in you:

Your Suffering is For Others. You will quickly grow discouraged in an individualistic culture, if you only consider how your suffering is benefitting you. If Christ is in you, your sufferings are sovereignly placed in your life to comfort others.

Your Suffering is For The Church. Suffering builds up the body of Christ. Whether your suffering is physical ailments, parenting, financial suffering, or psychological suffering, your suffering can become a means by which the gospel is advanced and the church is built up. Therefore, we can embrace suffering with joy.

Your Suffering is Significant. For these reasons, no suffering will go unnoticed by Christ. You are not alone in your suffering, but Christ is near you. He is holding your tears in his bottle (Ps. 56:8).

So, we find that the wrong thing to do with suffering is to try to get rid of it. The right thing to do is to rejoice within it because we have hope.

That leads us to our second point: serving in Christ is to Steward Hope. Self-denying service is a form of suffering. And, it is the service to which all ministers are called.

Why should Paul care about the Colossians and suffer this way for them? One theologian writes that the Colossians are, "...the least important to which any epistle of Paul is addressed" If you think of Romans, what a great city this letter is written to! Corinth and Ephesus are both positions of prominence in their own way. But, the Colossians, who ever heard of Colossae? Paul shows in this passage that size, location, and prominence are all irrelevant when it comes to the Church. For the American Church, this is a difficult pill to swallow.

True ministry, or service to Christ, is not measured by numbers or metrics as we understand them, but by the economy of God. And, the main measurement in the economy of God for the success of ministry is making the word of God more fully known. We read:

25 [the Church] of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.

Here, I want us to notice two things:

Paul places himself under the authority of God in his ministry. Paul knows that he is not the head of the Church. Rather, Paul is a servant "of the Church." His authority comes from God as he serves the Church. He is given a stewardship from God…to make the word of God fully known. That's Paul's mission. That's Paul's aim. That's Paul's clear job description. The second that Paul started opening up side businesses, like "essential oils for suffering" or "Rental cars for Jesus", the Colossians were advised to run away. Paul is a man under authority. He is serving the Church. He ought not be distracted.

Paul acknowledges that ministry is a gift. Paul says, "This stewardship was given to me for you." The content of this gift is to fully explain a mystery that has been revealed to this generation. Paul recognizes that this is a gift and not something that he deserves. This is because he is given the stewardship of a mystery. In other words, not only would Paul never have been given the job of a pastor in his own strength, but he would not know the Gospel at all, unless Christ had revealed himself to him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9).

It's as if Paul is saying, "An unexpected guest showed up at my birthday party. And, although I had never met him, he gave me a gift of surprising worth, the inheritance of his entire family line. But, in giving me the management of this estate, he also included a job description. The focus of this estate should be underprivileged children. The second that the estate is managed for other purposes, it will be revoked." In the same way, Paul was given the gift of ministry, for the service of the Church, not himself. Here we have two criteria for evaluating effective ministry.

Are our ministries making God's word more fully known? From our text it seems that the ingredients needed for Word-revealing ministry are:

Joy in Suffering.

A proper view of God's authority and the Church.

A clear grasp of the mystery of the Gospel.

That's it. Ping-pong tables, brunch bites, lake trips, hunting parties, backpacking, and everything else are all secondary, not primary.

Are we relating to ministry as a gift or with a sense of entitlement? Because ministry can become an idol, it's very easy for us to begin to relate to it with a sense of personal ownership. "This is my church, my ministry, my small group, my Life Group, my preaching, my worship leading, etc." We begin to stroke ministry like Gollum strokes the ring: "My precious." Paul does not have this sense of entitlement that can creep into our hearts. Rather, he sees that his ministry is "given to him from God." He's happy to share ministry with Timothy and Epaphras. And, he's happy to work with them and for them. And, not only that, but it was given to him for the Colossians. 

Because we are stewards of a mystery, and because our main aim is to make the Word of God more fully known, we recognize that not only do we not deserve salvation, but our positions in ministry are undeserved gifts. Further, we do not receive our positions in ministry for the sake of ourselves, but for others. This is deeply humbling.

This makes distractions like size of a church, number of people, number of programs, events, or financial assets all subservient to seeing Christ formed in others. We must make that our main aim! But, why?

This leads us to our third point: seeing Christ in You is a Sight of Heaven. Paul says that he has been made a steward of the mystery of God. And, he is given this stewardship for the sake of the Colossians (and all the churches). Now, Paul says, it is because of the nature of this mystery, that his main aim, is seeing Christ formed in others, rather than effective management, good programs, or delightful foods. Paul could offer none of those things from his jail cell.

Here Paul defines that the nature of this mystery is that:

27 To them[that is, to the saints] God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

There are three observations that we need to make on this section.

The fact that the Gospel advanced, overflowed the banks of Israel, to the Gentile world ought to show God's extravagant generosity. The mystery is so profound, riches, and great that it penetrates the whole world. And this mystery has come to all the saints, including you if you've trusted in Christ. What a great gift! To focus on anything else would be foolish!

Christ in 'You' is plural, though it has individual implications. The indwelling Christ is the Christ who dwells in all believers both individually and corporately. It would be easy in an individualistic culture to think that Paul is referring only to the personal, individual experience when he says this. But his actual words are "you all." That means that we will never be able to get away from needing one another to know Christ in us as we ought to know him. To forsake gathering as the Church is to give up on the plurality of the Christian life.

If I say, "Handel's Messiah" dwells in you, the hope of classical music, that would mean something slightly different depending on if I am a violinist, a vocalist, or a percussionist. And yet, the unity of the parts is found as it comes together as a whole. However, that does not mean that the individual members or parts don't also have the fullness of Handel's Messiah. The Fullness of God dwells in Jesus, Jesus dwells in us by the Spirit, and so it follows that the fullness of Christ dwells in us as individual members of Christ's Church. And when we gather, we see all the parts come together. So there is something special happening here and now.

Christ in You is the hope of glory. It's so easy to read this text and to be numb to its contents. Christ dwells in believers. Let's pause for a second and dwell on this. This is the mystery. Christ lives in you, if you've trusted in Christ. He dwells in you, lives in you, has taken up residence in your life. Christ's dwelling in you is your guaranteed down-payment of eternal life in Jesus.

Just consider if I said, "The Los Angeles Lakers are moving to Boise" or the "Seattle Seahawks just bought a stadium in Boise" or "In n Out is coming to Boise" or "Steph Curry now lives in Boise." That would mean that everything that comes with these teams or people would be present here.

With Jesus it is the same. When he comes to dwell with us, he brings his whole self, not just parts of himself. Who is it that dwells in you? Shai Linne reminds us that we're talking about,

"The God-glorifier, the universe-creator, the prophecy-fulfiller, the perfect-law-obeyer, the Scripture-validator, the Father-honorer, the humility-modeler, the cross-carrier, the sin-bearer, the death-conquerer, the grave-defeater, the salvation-achiever, the prayer-answerer, the proud-humbler, the weak-strengthener, the elect-preserver, the triumphant-returner, the justice-executor, the Satan-destroyer, the eternal joy-giver."

This is Christ. He is the hope of glory. All of him in each of you. If we understand Jesus for who he really is, it is impossible to become bored with him. If we truly have new hearts, if we are truly born again, we are overcome with joy when we see him as he is, and when we see him reflected in others.

Most recently in the life of our Church, we had the opportunity to celebrate the life of Lois Wolin, Jason's mother. Even in Jason's telling of it, we were all moved as Lois was losing all her earthly treasures, she lifted her hands to worship Jesus, and received from him something that is of surpassing worth. This was Christ in Lois, the hope of glory.

Church, there are ways in which I have seen Christ in you. I have seen you give self-sacrificially to the work of Christ. I have seen you open your homes to others. Recently, a family decided to meet our needs by bringing us a meal once a week. That's Christ providing!  That's service in Christ! I have seen Christ in Youth Leaders, Children's Ministry workers, prayer-warriors, Other Pastors, our Admins, our lay-Elders, and in so many other spheres.

I have seen

the love of Christ in Mackenzie Boudreaux as he quit his job to work serving students.

The joy of Christ in Natalie Nelson as she serves in countless capacities.

The peace of Christ in Christy Shambora as she counsels students.

The patience of Christ in Ryan Patterson as he sits through meetings that never end.

The kindness of Christ in David O'Hara as he has borne with this young pastor.

The goodness of Christ in Jeremy Putman as he always seeks to choose the good.

The faithfulness of Christ in Josiah Gerbitz, who shows up no matter what.

The gentleness of Christ in Ben Tyson, who above all, cherishes unity.

The self-control of Christ in Steve Walker, who didn't even flinch when we asked him to preach five times in Jason's absence.

These are just a few examples of Christ in our hallways. There are many more!

Church, let's not get distracted from Christ and begin proclaiming anything else. We are not proclaiming ourselves, but Christ in us. That leads us to our next point:

Fourth, Proclaiming Christ Produces Maturity. If there are any examples of maturity in our body, where did they come from? Not from us. But from the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus. So, Paul says, if you want mature Christians, or mature Christianity, make Jesus the main subject of your proclamation. We read,

28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Preaching Jesus is made up of two basic activities and it results in one outcome. Preaching Jesus is:

Warning. That is, providing instruction that admonishes a person. Intrinsic to the proclamation of Jesus Christ is warning, because there is no other way to know God, but through Christ. The Preacher must always be warning his people not to turn down any other road.

Because my children are two and four years of age, we warn a lot about the street. Crossing the street means potentially coming in contact with moving vehicles. So, we take this seriously. In the same way, the seriousness of knowing Christ requires warning.

Teaching. This is instruction with all wisdom. Colossians 3:16 illustrates this further, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

If you know any teachers, you know that they are required to 'differentiate' their learning to multiple styles. Not everyone learns the same way. Likewise, the Christian is to proclaim Christ, teaching with all wisdom. We should carefully observe engagement to maximize our effectiveness.

What Paul pictures in this section is exhibited through the whole book of Colossians, which is an exposition on the person and work of Jesus Christ. There is no more captivating person than Jesus Christ. This is who Paul proclaims.

Now, the outcome of this preaching is:

Maturity in Christ. The literal rendering of this is that Christians reach their telos or their end, completion, perfection as Christ is proclaimed.

Our dog, Shasta, has reached physical maturity as a black lab, Australian Shepherd mix. But, he has not reached emotional or psychological maturity by any means. His breed is highly intelligent, meaning that he wants lots of mental stimulation, and he's a working dog, so he wants a lot to do to be happy. We don't really have time for either of those things, so Shasta, sadly, is stunted. He has not reached the telos of his capabilities.

Now, an important distinction needs to be made here: maturity in Christ comes as you are a 'new creation' in Christ. This is not humanity reaching its full potential, but each person becoming who he or she truly is in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). Shasta, in the Houck Family, has not reached maturity. All who are in Christ will.

People mature in Christ, not as they reach their potential on their own, but rather as they hear the Gospel proclaimed, and their new self in Christ is exercised by the life giving reality of the Word, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

In God's economy hearing Christ preached grows you up. That means that your maturity in Christ is not related to your family, friends, background religiously or otherwise, hobbies, political affiliations, or school choices. Christ matures his people, and nothing else will.

This again becomes the measurement of our ministries.

Is Jesus central to all of our activities?

Are people being warned to fight sin, and pursue Jesus? (Maturity comes through warning)

Are people being instructed wisely? (maturity comes through teaching)

Are people maturing in Christ? (reaching their telos in Christ)

According to Paul, these things are worth the struggle, which leads us to our last point:

Fifth and Finally, Savoring Christ in Others is Agonizing. The Christian ministry is a struggle. Seeing Christ formed in others is agonizing business. It's tiring and will take some sweat. Paul addresses the Church in Galatia as "...my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!" (Galatians 4:19). To the Thessalonians, he likens himself to a nursing mother (1 Thess. 2:9). He's up in the middle of the night, like a suffering parent.

In this case, Paul is like the spiritual grandfather of the Colossian Church. He preached to Epaphras in the Hall of Tyrannus, and now Epaphras started a Church. Epaphras is a 'faithful minister of Christ on your behalf' (Col. 1:7), and as a faithful minister he is much like his master, Jesus, and his discipler, Paul.

But, I imagine that the Colossian Church were surprised to hear this read to them:

29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

Paul says, "Don't think for a second that Epaphras forgot about you. In fact, from the second we heard about you, we have been agonizing over you in prayer. And, even now, as I write this letter and proclaim Christ, I am struggling, agonizing with all Jesus' energy as he works it within me by the power of his Holy Spirit."

Paul prayed for the Colossians. He struggled, worked, and agonized for their spiritual good.

Church, this is a description of discipleship: agonizing over others with the strength that Jesus supplies by his Holy Spirit so that others are formed and matured in Christ. This is, believe it or not, how the very contents of this text are embodied in Paul. As he agonizes to see others become more like Christ, he is being made more like Jesus. Christ is more fully, clearly, and beautifully formed in Paul as Paul seeks to form others. This is the invitation to discipleship.

Kelly Kapic writes, "Christianity's goal or telos has always been to grow in love and communion with God, our neighbors, and the rest of creation"

We should not think for a second that any of our ministries are only for others. God is at work in us as we minister. That brings us back to the beginning. This is the hope of eternity: Christ in you is the hope of glory.

Suffering in Christ Strengthens Hope (Colossians 1:24).

Serving in Christ is to Steward Hope (Colossians 1:25-26).

Seeing Christ in you is a Sight of Heaven (Colossians 1:27).

Proclaiming Christ Produces Maturity (Colossians 1:28).

Savoring Christ in others is agonizing (Colossians 1:29).

I want us to close by inviting you to make this your prayer each morning as you wake up:

"Jesus, you are more than enough for me." In our suffering, serving, seeing, proclaiming, and savoring, grant that we might be content in Christ. To think that you are abiding in us, and we in you, is almost too much for us. Cause us to rejoice in all circumstances. To put away complaining. To not be seduced by the comforts of this life, or fear hardship and sorrow. In all things, cause us to proclaim Christ, in his name we pray. Amen.

Good morning church, it is a privilege to be with you this morning worshipping with you. If you are visiting with us for the first time this morning my name is Ryan and I am one of the elders and pastors here and usually have the joy of exhorting us in our time of singing but today I get the privilege of preaching the Word to us this morning and man what a privilege it is. However, I do want to take a minute before we begin and just say thank you to you for the ways in which you minister to me week by week. This body loves to sing and every time we gather to sing God’s Word and the gospel, I am reminded all over again that Jesus is worthy, the cross had the final word, we have forgiveness in Jesus, and there is nothing from my week that can separate me from the love of Jesus. You help the Word of Christ to dwell in me and each other richly and that ministry has me profoundly thankful every time I pick up my guitar or sit down at the piano to lead us in the singing of God’s praise, so thank you for loving Jesus audibly with your voices!

Steve has just done an unbelievable job opening up the book of Colossians to us the last three weeks and in doing so has focused on showing us the person, work, and nature of Christ as relayed by Paul to the believers in Colossae.

Two weeks ago, we saw Christ in how we were instructed to pray as it related to who Jesus is, what he has done, how He is accomplishing His will in our lives, and how we ought to pray to that end.

And if you weren’t with us last week we looked at who Christ is as revealed in Colossians 1:15-20, and why Christ is enough. In just a summary reminder of that, we saw that:

He is God and reveals God

He is the creator and owns all of creation

He is the Lord and Savior and Head of the church- The Lord of Life the Defeater of Death

He is the Reconciler of all Creation- a creation that was at odds with Him because of the fall but is being brought back into right relationship because of the cross

All of those are significant claims and if we believe all these things to be true about Jesus it has implications on who we are and what we do.

This morning we’ll see that Jesus is not only the reconciler of all creation, but he is the reconciler of us individually.

What do we mean when we say that we’ve been reconciled? Just a few very simple definitions could be understood as:

Two people at odds with one another being restored to a good and right relationship.

Two enemies making amends to be friends.

A conflict of relationship coming to a resolve

And really there is much more that could be said and understood about reconciliation and we’ll talk about that in a bit but what we come to understand our text today is that Christ has reconciled us from something for something. So, this morning we are going to look at what we were reconciled from and what we are reconciled to. Ultimately, we are going to look at part two of why Jesus is enough and why we aren’t enough and we’re going to do that through these four basic questions:

Who Is Christ?

Who are We?

What did Christ Do?

What do We Do?

That second half of that statement that you see as the title, “Why we aren’t enough,” can be a hard one to swallow. It’s easy to think, “Man life is brutal enough, I already struggle with self doubt and beating myself up over my failures,” but I want to show you that what can seem so negative and bitter to swallow is actually some of the best news you could receive this morning. This really is all the more reason to understand Christ and in doing so, understand ourselves.

WHO IS CHRIST?

Like I said earlier, answering that first question, “Who is Christ?” is just a summation of what we got last week but I want it on our minds as we go on to answer the next three questions from our text this morning.

You see, understanding who Jesus is, is paramount to understanding what He has done and why He has done it. In understanding Jesus, we effectively understand the whole story of redemption. This is why all of Scripture speaks of Christ, because the entire redemptive narrative revolves around Him. We even see this mentioned directly in scripture:

In Psalm 40:7 which is classified as a Typical-Messianic Psalm (which very simply defined is a Psalm that is related to, points to, or is largely about the coming Messiah) we read in the latter half of the verse “in the volume of the book it is written of me”

The author of Hebrews quotes this verse speaking of Christ’s sacrifice once and for all in Hebrews 10:7, “Then I said, Behold I have come to do your will O God, as it is written of me in the scroll (or the volume of the book)

If you remember from our previous book study in John 5, Jesus, addressing a group of Jews angry with him for healing a paralytic man on the sabbath, says to them testifying about himself in verse 39, “you search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me”

In other words, this entire book is about God redeeming a people unto Himself through Jesus His son! Steve Walker put it so well last week when he concluded with this:

“In Christianity, you are not focusing on principles, nor commandments, nor a philosophy, nor even a way of life; all these are there, but unlike any other religion, Christianity (and we who embrace it) are obsessed with a person, the Promised One, the Messiah, the Christ. And for very good reason. He alone is enough.”

This morning, as we come to understand Jesus it will help us to understand ourselves better and the condition in which he found us as we’ll see in our text.

So let’s open up our passage together and read these few verses in Colossians 1:21-23,

“And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.”

As we come to answer the question who is Jesus we see all throughout scripture and in our particular text this morning, that the answer to that question is closely linked to the need that people have for a savior. From the very beginning in Genesis 3 where we see Adam and Eve disobey God and plunge humanity into sin, God goes on a rescue mission to redeem those he loves and make right a creation that was plunged into decay. All through the OT we see God give his people prophets, priests, and kings to lead his people back to himself. However, on this side of the cross, the author of Hebrews tells us we get the perfect prophet, priest, and king in Jesus Christ!

He’s a better prophet starting at the beginning with Moses and going all the way to Malachi according to Hebrews 3. Moses testified to a coming savior, but Jesus was that coming Savior.

He’s a better priest than the entire Levitical priesthood. Again, the author of Hebrews says that even if the order of Melchizedek (who we don’t have time this morning to get into but suffice it to say was a great priest) could keep all the requirements of the law perfectly, there came another, who became a priest not by legal requirement but by the power of an indestructible life, becoming the great high priest for you and me. The one who could actually do something about our condition of being “law breakers” because He himself had not only kept the law perfectly but overcame the penalty of not keeping the law perfectly which is death!

 

Lastly Christ is a better King! We see this from the author in Hebrews 1 in the first few verses. Michael Kruger says we see this in three ways in these verses. First, he is the Son King appointed heir of all things. Sons are the rightful heirs of all that belong to their fathers. So the whole world, all of creation belongs to king Jesus. Next, he is Creator King. We saw that in Colossians 1:16-17 last week. The author of Hebrews says in Chapter 1 verse 2 “Through whom God created the world” which is another way of saying He is God, ruler of the world because creation is something only God does. Third, he is fully King. Hebrews 1:3 says, He upholds the universe by the word of His power, which is another way of saying only God can uphold us and sustain the whole world by the power of His Word as shown in Psalm 104 (which you should go back and read when you have some time)!

 

This is who Jesus is! And church whether you realize it or not we need a perfect prophet, priest, and king to meet our condition: Allister Beg said it this way:

“We needed a prophet because of the darkness and ignorance that was inherently inside of us. We needed a priest because we are estranged and alienated from God and Christ has come to bridge that chasm. We need a king because as the bible says, we are under the rule of tyrants; which is the flesh, our sin and the devil.” [1]

In Romans 8:7-8 Paul says of the person who remains in their unbelief, they are controlled by their sinful nature and can’t please God. In 2 Timothy 2:26 Paul speaks of those who are “captives of the devil.” And in Hebrews 2:15 the writer, speaking of the liberating power of Jesus, says the king has come to liberate those who all their lives have been enslaved by the fear of death.

So Jesus is:

A Perfect Prophet – Revealing our need

A Perfect Priest – Atoning for our need

A Perfect King – Redeeming our need

This realization brings us to our second question this morning:

 

WHO ARE WE?

Paul answers this question in three ways here in verse 21, the first of which is this: apart from Christ, we are alienated. It’s this word in the Greek called apallotrioo which literally means estranged, cut off from, separated from, having no part in. It’s the same word Paul uses in Ephesians 2:12 when he says, “remember you were at that time separated, from Christ ALIENATED (and there is our word apallotrioo) from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise having no hope and without God in the world.” And again Paul uses this word speaking of unbelievers in Ephesians 4:18 when he says, “They are darkened in their understanding, ALIENATED (apallotrioo) from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to their hardness of heart. In other words what Paul is getting at here in Colossians is that we apart from Christ have no place with him, his people, his kingdom, or his blessings. We share nothing with him, graceless, faithless, hopeless. And why is this the case, why are we alienated and cut off from God? Is it simply due to ignorance or unfortunate circumstance?

No, it’s because apart from Christ, we are hostile in mind, and evil in deed. In other words apart from Christ we are actively (not just passively) opposed to God both internally and externally. This Greek word for mind, dianoia, can be understood as our senses or sensibilities, our disposition but there is another word in Latin for this idea and it this word, cogitationis which is more the idea of your intention, or your planning. You see evil deeds are birthed from evil intentions and so what Paul is saying here is every part of you, from your mind to actions, from your intention to your follow through, from your motive to your desired outcome apart from Christ is hostile and evil.

This is simply the doctrine of total depravity which rightly defined isn’t that everyone is currently acting as bad as they could be but rather is better understood that because of Adam and Eve’s initial rebellion towards God, sin penetrates us to the very core of our being or our makeup.

Church I would submit to you this morning that we left to ourselves and apart from Christ are far worse off than we even realize today. Again Romans 8:7 says, “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot” or Ephesians 2: 1-3 says, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

Church, we are fully affected, our entire being (mind body and soul) by sin and it’s effects, by the fall. Do you actually believe that? Are you surprised when sin rises up from any part of your body? When anger or malice controls your tongue, when deceit creeps up in your hands or feet, when lust presents itself in your eyes, when covetousness or greed or bitterness touches down in your heart, when ego and pride inflates your head, when suffering and depression makes your skin crawl, when you act out in any way actively or passively in your sin or are sinned against and hurt, are you actually surprised by any of this!?!? We shouldn’t be, Paul wasn’t. He was reminding the church in Colossae, “This is who you once were apart from Christ and church this is who we are apart from Christ. Do we believe that!? Or do we believe we are actually a little better off than this. That we are actually not as bad as we’re making it out to be. That not ALL of our propensities are prone to selfish ambition. That we aren’t actually as desperately hopeless apart from Christ as Paul is making it here in Colossians 1:21. That we are actually, kind of enough in and of ourselves to deal with our sin problem?

I would submit to you this morning that is far more our attitude than actually taking a good long and hard look in the mirror and seeing ourselves for what we are, desperate people, desperately in need of a reconciler! What you believe about yourself will dictate how desperate you are for the answer to our third question, which is:

 

WHAT DID CHRIST DO?

 

Paul answers this question in 3 ways as well in verse 22 and the first part is that he reconciled us back to himself. Well if you remember, we talked about reconciliation back at the beginning of the message where two people at odds with one another become restored to a good and right relationship. Where enemies become friends, and conflicted parties find resolve, but here is where it gets really good because we see the means by which that reconciliation comes. None of that restoration happens without someone doing the restoring!

Church, we were made to live in harmony with God, the creator with His creation in perfect union. But our sin got in the way of that and continues to do so until God himself reconciles and restores the relationship back to its original order and design which is perfect harmony, love, and relationship with God! And how did he do that!? I’m glad you asked. Through His body of death!

Remember what we said earlier, our entire body was corrupted by the fall, every square inch of us. Not just our activities but our minds, thoughts, intents and will. So God determined that it would take every bit of Jesus’s bodily death on the cross to reconcile our sin sick bodies back to Himself. His death for our life, his righteous body for our radically corrupt and fallen body. This flew in the face of the modern day heresy that was being thrown at the believers in Colossae. Listen to what theologian Norman Geisler said about Paul specifically mentioning Christ’s physical, bodily, fleshly death here:

 

“The Gnostic tendency of the Colossian heresy, with its Platonic orientation, denied both Christ’s true humanity and His true deity. As John explained, it is necessary to confess “that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” (1 John 4:2). Spirits cannot die, and “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Heb. 9:22). In order to redeem humans, Christ Himself must be truly human (cf. 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 2:17). Thus Christ’s real physical body and death were necessary for man’s salvation (cf. Rom. 7:4; Heb. 10:10).[2]”

 

Make no mistake God himself had to die to make right what went wrong at the fall. It’s like we sing in our song “I Will Wait For You,” “Now he has come to make a way, God Himself has paid the price.” And he did so in and through the physical bodily brutal death of His Son Jesus Christ. But that’s not all He did! No, the grave could not hold Him, he rose from the tomb, conquering sin, defeating death, and destroying the grave so that he could do the third thing Paul says here which is making us holy!

As the author of Hebrews says in Hebrews 12:14, “… striving for peace and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” Church, God not only saves us and reconciles us through his physical death, but he was resurrected giving us His righteous life! He is fitting us for heaven so that when we get there it makes sense that heaven would be our home!

Let me give you an example. It was our son Thatcher’s birthday a couple weeks ago and he needed a new bike. His old one was too small, the chain kept falling off, and it just didn’t fit him anymore. So we went to REI, picked out a bike for him, and brought him in on his birthday to get it. But before we walked out with the new bike, the bike technician had him sit down and he began adjusting it. Thatcher asked, “What is he doing?” And I told him, “Well, he’s adjusting the handlebars, the seat height, the brakes, and everything else so that you can ride it. He is fitting you for the bike so that you make sense on your new bike.”

Then it dawned on me, if you want a definition of sanctification, there it is. God saves us and then begins fitting us for heaven so that we make sense there. He starts changing our desires, affections, attitudes, trajectories towards Him. The old man and His corrupt mind and deeds don’t belong in heaven and why? Because God lives there! He is holy and in Him there is no darkness at all. He is perfect light, truth, grace, love, and holiness; and our old self is destitute, broken, and dark. But dying with Christ in His death and rising with Him in His resurrection, we have a new outcome, a new self, and a new home so that by the time we reach heaven we will finally receive the reward we’ve been waiting for, the home or the “new bike” we’ve been fit for!

This is why reconciliation is a continual work in the heart of the believer. Yes we were made right with God at the cross positionally but we are continually being made new as we grow to look more like Jesus. When an accountant reconciles the books they are making sure there is no discrepancy in the leger that doesn’t make sense or look like it doesn’t belong. If you are in Christ through his death burial and resurrection then He is committed to making sure your life with Him makes sense and there will be no discrepancies when you reach home! What a gospel.

This is why Christ is enough and we aren’t! It’s so much better when the king comes in and transfers us from the domain of darkness we were in bondage to and frees us to the kingdom of the beloved son in whom we have redemption and the forgiveness of our sin!

SO… in summary:

Who is Christ?

Better Prophet

Better Priest

Better King

Who are we?

Alienated

Hostile in mind

Evil in deeds

What did Christ do?

Reconciled Us back

Through his body of Death

To make us holy (fit for heaven)

This leads us to our final question

WHAT DO WE DO?

 

Let’s look back at the text and we’ll see two exhortations from Paul in verse 23…

Continue in our faith towards this truth

Continue in our hope of this truth

I’ll be honest, when I got to this point, I thought to myself what are these conditions doing here at the end of this passage!? We just finished with this glorious narrative about the reconciling work of Jesus only to turn and say, “Alright Christian, don’t mess up, don’t grow weary or faint, or unstable, or find your hope in something else.” If you’re anything like me you’re sitting there thinking to yourself, “I’m doomed. I put my hope in things other than the gospel all the time… my job, money, my status, my identity, my family, my ministry, my pursuit of self worth and satisfaction. And my faith waivers. There are times I doubt if the Lord is even near or listening. Why end the thought here Paul?”

Well, I’d like to end with this encouragement for you regarding these conditions at the end of our passage here, with these sweet words from our dear brother Sinclair Ferguson and his book By Grace Alon:, How The Grace of God Amazes Me. Let this truth wash over you in a fresh way and be amazed at the grace of God in this final portion:

“In and through our bodies, sin reigns. It expresses that reign through the eyes, the ears, the hands, the tongue, the feet. The body, by nature, is dominated by sin. ‘But,’ says Paul, ‘In this body—yes, this body—I have been delivered from the dominion of sin. The old man has been crucified with Christ in order that this body, as a body in which sin once reigned, might no longer be the body in which sin now reigns. This transformed life is also expressed in your body: through your eyes and what you see; through your ears and what you hear; through your hands and what you touch; through your tongue and what you say; and through your feet and where you go. All is to become fertile soil for Christ. Sin has no authority over anyone who is in Christ. You are no longer under its dominion. You have received a new identity. You have died out of that old kingdom. You have been raised through Christ into the new kingdom where He—not sin— reigns. From this vantage point, you can look back to your former king and his kingdom, and say: “You once ruled over me, but no longer. I am a citizen of the kingdom of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He alone reigns over me now.” You may not yet be what one day you shall be; but thank God you are no longer what you once were (Rom. 6:17–18). Therefore, I am going to offer all that I am—my eyes, my ears, my hands, my tongue, my feet—to my Lord Jesus Christ. Then the reign of His grace established in my life will overflow as I serve Him for His glory. I live already in the new world of grace. I no longer live in Sin Dominion, but in Grace Dominion. I am free at last. O Rock of Ages Cleft For Me let me hide myself in Thee, let the water and the blood from thy wounded side which poured; be of sin the double cure, saved from wrath and make me pure. Have you begun to experience “the double cure”? It is found in the pardon of the guilt of sin and the breaking of the power of sin. Both of these are ours through faith in Jesus Christ. And they are ours by grace alone.” [3]

Church, if there has truly and genuinely been a full reconciliation from Christ to you, though you may not be what you want to be and look forward to being, you are no longer what you once were, which was a slave to sin. You have the freedom in Christ to say no to your sin and continue in faith and the hope of the gospel because Christ is faithful and when not if you fear that faith will fail and those conditions go unmet, you look upward to Christ who will hold you fast to the very end! God will finish in you what he began for He does not break his promises.

If you find yourself this morning not free from the power of sin, if you are alienated from God, hostile in mind, evil in deed, needing freedom to the kingdom of God’s beloved son, don’t leave here today without confessing to God, “Lord I need you, I don’t want to be your enemy any longer, I repent of who I am and desire who you have called me to be.” Then tell someone and let’s rejoice together in baptism! Let’s pray.

[1] Allister Begg, Jesus Our King, from series: Jesus 101, Truth For Life.

[2] Norman L. Geisler, “Colossians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 674.

[3] Sinclair Ferguson, By Grace Alone: How the Grace of God Amazes Me © 2010 Sinclair B. Ferguson, published by Reformation Trust Publishing

Colossians Chart 2022

Is Jesus enough? Well, enough for what? Enough to help me get right with God, or understand life, or make it through the rough seasons of my years?  Is he really enough? The Colossian Christians initially thought so, but had been recently challenged in that conviction by intellectuals and religious teachers who sounded Christian, but who had a very different picture of the person of Jesus.  He was just a guy.  And he didn't know it all.  They were more enlightened and offered a better way, a more powerful experience of salvation; they had discovered the secrets of the universe, the higher principles of the unseen world.  And if you only believed in Jesus, you would be limited in what you could understand and experience––and that simply wasn't enough.

•There are two very different pictures of Jesus––the Christian one and every other one.  The non-Christian portrait of Jesus is, at best, a limited one.  He was a good guy, an insightful teacher, a self-educated Jewish rabbi who spoke with authority and compassion. He certainly had a grasp on human nature and profound truths.  For a first century Jew, he was remarkably in touch.  He was special. But he was only human. So, as much as you like him, as much as you are drawn to his life, you can't see him much more than as a wonderful example to learn from and follow. And even then, you have to take what he said––and what others said about him––with a grain of salt.

•After all, he never traveled more than a couple of hundred miles from his home. He never saw a Toyota or drove a Subaru. Never flew in an airplane. Never used a cellphone. Never took an antibiotic. He never traveled outside of a few days’ walk of the Mediterranean. Never ate a hamburger or washed it down with a coke. He never held a printed book in his hand or ripped open a package of M&Ms or brewed a steaming mug of coffee. He never enjoyed a bowl of strawberry ice cream, or held in His hand an iPhone. As a citizen of Century One, he couldn't have known about bacteria, or Covid19, or atoms and quarks, or black holes and the actual size of the universe; he had to have been ignorant of electricity and certainly couldn't have foreseen  the internet or OLED 4K Smart TVs or medical MRIs.  The population of the entire earth at that time equaled the population of just our country––a little over 300 million––which is a fraction of the 7 billion people alive today; and whole movements of history, including the rise of the United States with its Constitution of freedom and responsibilities, were yet to happen. As just a Jewish rabbi, he couldn't have known. So, yes, he was wonderful. Engaging. Insightful. A great model to remember and imitate. But he was not enough––not for the Colossians then who lived in Roman society far from the Jewish world, and certainly not enough for us in our advanced, technological, complex world today. So take Jesus. But you're going to need other truth, other insights, other traditions, something more to make it through life and live successfully. That’s one view of Jesus.

•And then there's the Christian view of Jesus.  Yes, he wore a robe and sandals. He ate kosher. He never had breakfast of bacon and eggs, never ordered a latte, never did a lot of things we take for granted. But there's a reason that guy who lived only a little over 3 decades and never travelled far from where he was born affected his world and all of human history since:  He wasn't just a guy. Who was He?  (Buckle up, because this could shake your back teeth.) Paul reminds them just who Jesus was, and is, and why He's enough. Paul believes (and he’s dead on), that [How we think about Jesus determines how we respond to Jesus.] So he gives us three disturbing snapshots. Before I show you them, let me point out a startling observation: one little word recurs: is (e.g. 15, 17, 18a, b). Paul is not saying that Jesus lived a few decades ago, and died, and all we are left with is memories.  Paul insists that because of his resurrection, Jesus is. He is alive. He's as alive as you or I am--even more, because we're dying. He's not a dead guy in ancient history, but a person alive right now. So who is He?

[1. HE IS GOD AND REVEALS GOD] (vs. 15a) image is a very revealing word: it describes the imprint of a picture on a coin (e.g. Mk. 12:16––Jesus took a coin and in making his point asked, “so whose image is on this coin?” They all knew: Caesar’s); it’s also used as a description of a person in a legal document that identified the individual by his distinguishing marks and characteristics so you’d know you were dealing with the right person. But when Paul says that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, he is saying more than just Jesus reveals God, he’s asserting Jesus is God—that He is rightly identified as God! [JB Phillips: “Christ is the visible expression of the invisible God.”] This is the clear testimony of the New Testament: [John 1:1, 14; 1:18; 14:9; Heb. 1:3]. So Paul isn’t saying that Jesus is godly, or that Jesus is like God, or that God is sort of like Jesus––he is saying that Jesus is God come in the flesh. So the answer to the question, “How do you recognize the living and true God?” is: look at Jesus. (Wait. That can’t be. I can buy that God is in Jesus, or Jesus clearly reveals some of God’s traits, but not that Jesus is God. Because, that would mean that the guy in the robe and sandals born in Bethlehem...created the universe.) Exactly:

[2. HE IS THE CREATOR] Knowing that idea might pop off all our mental circuit breakers, Paul spends some ink on the startling implications:

•He owns creation (vs. 15b): In English, we assume firstborn to mean, “first one of a number of children born in a family.” If it meant that, it would mean that God created Jesus first, and then Jesus created everything else. He was the first created. (That’s how Jehovah Witnesses see Jesus.) But firstborn in a family was accorded rights and privileges that the other offspring weren’t given. He would be his father’s representative and would manage his household and eventually inherit the family property. The title described a position of rights and responsibilities––it wasn’t saying really anything about how he came into existence. The title was used of Hebrew kings, picturing God’s choice to entrust His kingdom to a ruler––and eventually came to refer to the Great Coming King, the Messiah: [Ps. 89:27 “And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.”/x] So Paul says Jesus is the Father’s firstborn––not saying he was created, but that he inherits everything. All of creation is entrusted to Him to manage and belongs to Him. It’s no wonder:

•He was the agent of creation] (vs. 16a): When did creation happen? People speculate: 10,000 years ago? 10 million? 13 billion? Whatever you surmise, Paul is saying that this Person we knew as Jesus was around prior to the universe existing; that he brought into existence not only life as we know it, but earth, our solar system, and our own Milky Way galaxy. (I want to take a moment to show you just how shocking this statement is. Suppose we were to board a rocket intending to cross our galaxy, and we could travel the speed of light (186,000 miles per second); how long would it take to cross it? Answer: 100,000 years). This is asserting that this person we know as Jesus created not only our massive galaxy, but also the over 100 billion other galaxies in our observable universe. He was the one who made everything seen and unseen––both elephants and people, microbes and subatomic quarks, the human eye in all its designed glory and the glory of the unseen angels. John: [1:3/x] All this exists because of Jesus. In fact:

•The universe exists for Him] (vs. 16b) Everything exists not only because of Him, but for Him. So any purpose of life that doesn’t take into account Jesus, is shortsighted and false. You exist for Him. Only in Him will you find the reason why you exist, why you are in this life. And should you miss what Paul is asserting, or try to soften what he’s saying about Jesus, he presses home the point: (vs. 17a) i.e:

[•He existed before anything else] NB the repetition of all creation (vs. 15b); then all things (3x vs.16a,b, 17a). There was a time when nothing else existed except God. And Jesus. This is what John the apostle echoes: [John 1:1-2/x]

•His will makes the universe predictable and purposeful] (vs. 17b) The point isn’t simply that everything would blow up and fly apart if Jesus took a vacation. To hold together is a term that describes something ordered; that it is intentionally composed of parts that contribute to a cohesive whole. It’s designed. [Heb. 1:3/x] So knowing that, we’d expect the universe to operate under predictable laws. And it does. Whether gravity or truth, whether the Law of thermodynamics or the Law of love, Jesus is the one by whose creative power they exist, and by whose providence they continue to be in effect.

•Jesus is the Creator, the God of the universe. Yet we know and love Him more for this third and increasingly personal picture:

[3. HE IS THE LORD AND SAVIOR] (vs. 18a) i.e.

•He is the Head of the Church]: We use head to describe someone in charge: “he’s the head of the company,” or “the head of the government.” It implies authority and responsibility. But Paul is saying more than just Jesus is in charge of the church, that he’s the Lord and what he says should be authoritative. The picture is striking, because we’re in it. Everyone who has believed in Jesus and has received the Spirit of God is part of His Body, the church. Every person in every generation in every place. We all are connected by His Spirit, and empowered to act in line with the head. You are not part of an organization (“the church”) but a living part of an organism, His Body. We see things through His eyes. We speak his words. We take directions from His will and share His mind. As He was the visible manifestation of the invisible God on earth 2000 years ago, so we are the visible manifestation of Him (much less perfectly) in our generation. I’m not sure I’d want me, but He does. And He is the One: NB

•He is Lord of Life and Defeater of Death] (vs. 18b): the beginning is the word arch–-we get architect from it, and it means source––the whole church starts with Jesus. He’s the most important Person because of Him, the church exists. No Jesus, no church. He came back from the dead. And He gives life, eternal life to all who trust in Him. You know what awaits you and me because we belong to Jesus? A resurrection from the dead. And then our bodies will be glorious, eternal and with boundless energy. And we’ll enjoy life with God forevermore, as we have never ever to this day. This all came about not only because of who Jesus is, but what Jesus did:

•He is where God and creation is reconciled] (vss. 19-20) As God, as the just and holy one, God is offended by our disregard of Him and our disobedience to His Laws. That reconciliation was needed by all creation means that all creation was at odds with its creator. In fact, the ancient decree of death was the penalty for that rebellion against Him; yet, that same payment was made by God Himself in behalf of his creation!

•It’s critical to see that Jesus was not only fully God, but fully human. It’s the only way he could take our penalty. Did he have fingers and toes? Did he smile or chuckle? When he walked on dusty paths, did his shoes make footprints? Did he have a pulse and did he ever burp? Did his body function as ours and did he ever feel weary, elated, frustrated or hurt? It is with this physical body, in his real self, he suffered and died. In submitting to execution by a cross, he paid the penalty, not for his sin, not even for one other’s, but for every human being who ever lived or would live.

•At the cross, the place of execution on that dark afternoon in 33 AD, God in human form paid for the sins of all people, and made peace with God possible. The pivotal point in all human history is the cross. Everything turns on that single event. But what God did in Israel on that day long ago became very personal to each one of us through the message of the Gospel: Christ died in your place, for your guilt, as your Savior/your rescuer. He was raised from the dead as the Lord of life. He offers you forgiveness and new life if you repent and put your trust in Him.

Conclusion: I don’t know if you noticed it, but these portraits of Jesus grow increasingly personal as they progress: from His identity as the eternal God, to His relationship to all creation, to the church in general throughout the ages, to each one of us as redeemed individuals right now.

•In Christianity, you are not focusing on principles, nor commandments, nor a philosophy, nor even a way of life; all these are there, but unlike any other religion, Christianity (and we who embrace it) are obsessed with a person, on the Promised One, the Messiah, the Christ. And for very good reason. He alone is enough.

•How we think about Jesus determines how we respond to Jesus.] Jesus draws near to you, and approaches you as your God, your Creator, your Lord, your Savior.

Colossians Chart 2022

Sermon Outline Handout

If you want to encourage someone, tell them that you are praying for them. But if you want to really encourage them, tell them what you are praying for. But like for what? Most of our prayers revolve around three things:

1) Healing of physical problems:  sickness, cancer, accidents, etc.  Ask people for prayer requests, and without a doubt you’ll get requests for physical health. Most common request. I get it. If you’d have asked me for a prayer request when I was suffering with kidney stones, you could have guessed my response. A second common prayer:

2) Provision of perceived needs or wants: out of work, so need a job;  need money to pay a upcoming bill; we want a husband/wife but you have no promising candidates on the horizon; want answers or guidance.

3)  Reversal of circumstances: we don't like where we are or the situation we find ourselves in and we want it to change.  We're having problem with our kids, and we want them to behave.  We're struggling with weight and we want to lose it.  We're frustrated with a person and we want him/her to change…or get lost.

Hear me well: praying and asking God for any of these is not wrong. (Well, maybe the last one.) You can find examples of people praying for each of these in the Bible. But it isn't necessarily what matters most. So what should we pray for?  When we want to encourage others and pray specifically, what requests should be on our lips?  What did Paul pray and ask God for in the lives of these Colossian Christians? What should we be asking God for, so that we are praying for what matters most? The amazing answer is in Paul’s prayer in Col. 1:9-14.

A couple of observations on the front end:

1) As Paul penned this originally in Greek, these verses are a single sentence with clear progression. So what spills out of his mouth is not something he’s making up on the spot. He’s thought a lot about these requests and apparently has asked God for them more than a few times. This isn’t a disconnected & spontaneous list of random requests.

2) NB he begins “and so...” (vs. 9): And so what? Well, the Colossians are relatively healthy spiritually: NB [vs. 4-5]: they evidence a living and vibrant faith in Christ in their daily life, sacrificial and inclusive love for one another, and a certain hope of their future). Even so, they’re not done. They still have spiritual needs; they have room to grow.  And [that] conviction is the basis for Paul’s prayer.

3) All the you’s are you-all’s. Unlike the heretics who were promoting philosophies that led to innies and outies, haves and have-nots, Paul prays for all of them inclusively. This prayer is for every believer. (And wherever you are in your life, this prayer will speak to you as well! It challenges me to pray, and to pray for what matters most.)  So Paul begins by saying...

I’M PRAYING FOR YOU… (vs. 9a) Whenever they came to mind, he closed his eyes and bowed his knees and prayed. He’s a 1000 miles away, locked in a jail, with no resources to help them; do you really think praying would do them any good? He thought so. And, even more importantly, do you think so? Do your prayers make a difference? Well, God thinks so. So pray! And if you’re going to pray for what matters most, what should be on your lips? Two main requests: First,I’m praying for you…

...THAT YOU’D HAVE CLARITY ABOUT WHAT GOD WANTS FOR YOUR LIFE. [vs. 9b]

You might think, “Yeah, I’d like to know that—God’s will for my life: what college should I go to? What job should I take? Who should I marry? Should I buy this or that car?” That isn’t exactly what Paul has in mind when he prays that we’d be filled with the knowledge of God’s will.

To be filled imagines a person as a glass or container into which God pours knowledge; yet not just any knowledge (e.g.general information, like math multiplication tables, or how to bake a cake or change a tire, or the size of the nearest galaxy; it’s not even biblical trivia, like memory verses or who Hezekiah was); but the knowledge of His will––the clarity and conviction of what God wants and desires for us in every area––in our thoughts, affections, purposes, priorities, activities, relationships, choices, plans. So to be filled with that implies there is no room remaining for stuff that isn‘t God’s will––no place for foolishness or deception or selfish desire or wrong thinking—all of which the Colossians were surrounded by.

His will is further described by “all spiritual wisdom and understanding”: think of wisdom as seeing life from God’s point of view; it is a decidedly God-centered perspective on life. e.g. “there is a God. He created everything. We should take Him into account and listen to Him.” So we should pray that people see life from God’s perspective. But it’s one thing to see it, and another to translate that practically. So understanding is applying that wisdom/perspective to your situation at hand. One writer observed: “It is possible to be an expert in theology and a failure at living.”

So Paul prays for them to have the certainty of knowing what God wants––for that to be crystal clear in their minds and lives, both in the big picture and the daily details. Believe me: God wants you to have this: he doesn’t want you to be in the dark, or be confused; but to be filled requires you to put yourself in situations where He can fill you: We should be praying for each other that we regularly place ourselves under good teaching; that we open our Bibles for ourselves; that we discuss the implications in small groups/Life Groups; that we pursue wisdom and bring our questions and problems to God for review in prayer.

[Wm. Barclay: “We are trying not so much to make God listen to us as to make ourselves listen to Him; we are trying to not to persuade God to do what we want, but to find out what he wants us to do.” Then he adds: “The great challenge in life is not to know what to do, but to do it.”].

I often confess, “I know better than I live.” I came to Christ when I was 17—that means I’ve been a Christian for 50 years. And I still struggle with that gap that I constantly try to close. Once we know what God wants, we need to do what God directs. So, we should ask God for a 2nd request:

...THAT YOU’D LIVE A LIFE WORTHY OF CHRIST AND PLEASING TO GOD. (vs. 10a):

Paul pictures our daily life as a walk along a path. We are traveling through this world, and as we do, we move in a direction, and form habits, and learn skills, and make decisions. We could shape our lives around ourselves, our concerns, our desires and will; or we could remember all Christ has done for us, and therefore desire to please Him in everything and every way. What an amazing thought: your life can be worthy of the Lord. It means you live in line with who He is and what he has done for you. In fact, you can actually please Him with your days!

Let me make an important distinction: Christ has made us acceptable to God through His death. You can’t add to it. You can’t subtract from it. It’s done. It is finished. But you can please Him. Or not. If you think I’m crazy, check this out:

[(2 Cor. 5:6-9) 6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please Him.]  Or this:

[(1Thess. 4:1) 1 Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.]

That’s one thing we should pray for—for ourselves and others, i.e. to be:

[NB] fully pleasing to Him (vs. 10b) We too often think it negatively—you mean I have to try to please God with my life? (as if that were a burdensome, troublesome, terrible thing.) Rather, what you do, how you life, can actually please God and delight His heart! That should be one of our most powerful motivations in life. What Christ wants should become paramount in our minds and hearts.

So when we pray for another (or for ourselves), we should pray that what they know of what God wants would affectthem; and that their greatest desire would be to honor Jesus and be pleasing to Him! But in Paul’s mind, a life worthy of Christ and pleasing to God isn’t foggy or undefined. It has hard edges and clear expectations. When he thinks and prays for them to develop such a life, he asks God for four things: This is how we please God—and how we ought to pray for others: 1st:

[vs. 10b] “Bearing Fruit”: ...that you’d live a compelling life that makes a difference. Bearing fruit is present tense––implying it should be ongoing in our lives. So what’s the fruit? It’s the natural and expected outcome of an alive and healthy tree! At least it pictures the development of characteristics of Christ in us as we surrender to the Spirit of God on a daily basis: it is what he elsewhere calls, “the fruit of the Spirit”:

[(Gal. 5:22-23) 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.];

But fruit is not only who we are, but also involves what we do! We share our faith, and reproduce:

[(1:5-7):  5because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant…]

And we do stuff God wants us to do that makes a difference

[(Eph. 2:10) 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.]  [x]

Ministries we get involved in, ways that we help others, small deeds that go unnoticed by everyone except the recipient and God––these please Him! God wants us to live a compelling life–-a life of faith that makes a practical difference, a compelling life! Such a life involves growth as well. Specifically:

[vs. 10c] “Increasing”: ...that you’d grow in the knowledge of God. This includes both the awareness and acknowledgement of God’s character, as well as the experience of His presence and activity in your life. Does God really love you? Bring your fears to Him. Is He really sovereign? Trust Him with your cares and concerns. Is He infinite in power and wisdom? Bring your most difficult problem, your biggest headache, your darkest trouble. Paul prays that they’d know this is what God wants for them: to know Him better and better as the years pass, to experience His presence increasingly as we walk through life, to come to Him again and again with all that we are and recognize that He is enough!

[Wm. Barclay: “There is nothing is this world as practical as prayer. It is not escape from reality. Prayer and action go hand in hand. We pray not to escape life, but in order to be better able to meet it.”/x]:

So living a life worthy of Christ and pleasing to God requires a third request:

[vs.11] “Strengthened”: ...that you’d be empowered to joyfully endure. Paul’s prayer literally is: being empowered by all power according to the might of His glory! What kind of power is Paul thinking of? Certainly not just physical: Power is simply ability––it’s measured by what a person can do. Can I stop a speeding bullet? Can I jump over a tall building or lift a locomotive? That’s not what Paul is asking God to give them/us. Instead, it is divine ability to confront two very difficult challenges:

1) endurance: this is the ability to withstand hardship or stress. It refers to being able to bear up under circumstances that are bad or unwelcome. It’s the capacity to see things through, no matter how rough it gets. This is usually directed to crushing circumstances and trying situations that we’d never choose for ourselves. Do we need God’s help/power to do this? Seems like we do––when we find ourselves in situations that test us, that are painful or unwanted, that we’d never choose for ourselves, but we cannot get out of easily or righteously. If we have endurance, the circumstances won’t destroy us or drive us from God.

2) patience: lit. long-suffering; if endurance describes how we handle circumstances, patience pictures how we respond to people––people who trouble us, criticize us, pressure us, treat us wrongly or badly. We don’t strike back, or hate, or try to get even. We keep loving them, seeking their best despite what they say about us, or to us, or do to us.

Notice, Paul is praying for us to do all this with joy! What kind of power is needed to do that? To joyfully endure and show patience? You need something not equal to the challenge, but exceeding it. We need power according to His glorious might! Might is the term that describes controlling power or governing power; this is the power or authority a king has to command. But whom are you commanding? Yourself. In self-control you issue the command, and in faith you follow through. And God empowers you to do just that.

So Paul is praying that the measure of that might isn’t just equal to the task at hand, but exceeds it––the measure will be not according the circumstances but according to God’s glory, i.e. His perfections, his infinite power. As we rely on God’s strengthening us to persevere and be patient, to be able to decide to do what He wills, and with Spirit-empowered self-control, do it, we live a life worthy of Him and please Him. Lastly:

[vs. 12a] [“Giving Thanks”: ...that you’d be grateful for all God has done for us] The implication is that it is ongoing––it marks your life!

But what do we have to be thankful about? The crushing circumstances? The disappointing and nasty people around us? Not at all. When nothing else is going right, there are some things that won’t change, things that are settled facts, things that give you great perspective and for which you can be profoundly thankful to God! Like:

[He qualified us!] (vs. 12b): “giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”

You is plural, and it included every Colossian Christian. There weren’t any he failed to qualify. That means you too. God, not you, gets the credit for your inclusion into the great things that are promised: His inheritance for all who belong to Him. You are entitled to share in His kingdom! It’s a done deal! You should be thankful! Wait! How did he do that?

[He delivered us!] (vs. 13a): “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness…”

The word pictures a dramatic rescue from a situation or condition or place from which you yourself could not escape! You were trapped. You were stuck. And God rescued you. Though the escape was made possible at the Cross with His death and resurrection, the actual rescue occurred at the moment you put your trust in Him as your Savior and Lord. He stormed the place in that dark kingdom where you were held captive, kept in ignorance, and guilt, and fear, and he carried you out! It was a domain that told you what to do and what to think and how to act–-and it damaged you and blinded you. And He saved you from that. You should be thankful & never forget that! But he didn’t then just leave you alone!

[He transferred us!] (vs. 13b) “…and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son…”

God transferred our citizenship into Christ’s Kingdom. The word for transfer actually describes relocating people to a new country.  Yes, we still live in this dark world where ignorance reigns and people don’t know God or don’t listen to Him; they stumble through life and don’t see where they’re headed. But you no longer belong here; you belong to and represent another kingdom. As such, you are points of light in this world! You belong to the Kingdom of Light/Truth. You belong!  NB what that took:

[He redeemed us!] (vs. 14): “…in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

We have right now, something that will never change––redemption! To be redeemed means to be bought and paid for. It pictured a slave being purchased and then set free. The cost of that redemption was the death of Jesus. His life for yours. His death paid for your guilt. The result is your sins have been completely paid for. They are forgiven/sent away. Nothing you have ever done will ever separate you from Him.

We should never forget all that God has done for us! His life-changing salvation should fill each one of us with thanksgiving, gratitude and daily joy!

So, go ahead and pray for anything that comes to mind: for healing, for provisions, for circumstances to change. Nothing wrong at all with that. But don’t forget to pray for what matters most—for yourself and others: that you’d have clarity about what God wants for your life...and that you’d have the determination to live a life worthy of Christ, and pleasing to God, as a deeply grateful person.  Pray.

Colossians Chart 2022

Intro: Heresy! In a world where everything is right and nothing is wrong, labeling something heresy causes most people to choke: How dare you call what they believe heresy? Who are you to determine whether someone is a heretic or not? I thought you religious people were supposed to be loving. How judgmental! Exactly. And apparently, judgment is what is required when confronted with the myriad of viewpoints and opinions and teachings in Ancient Roman Society, and in our society today.  Listen to the writers of the NT: Mt. 7:15; Acts 20:29-30; 2Pet. 2:1

•The word heresy in its purest meaning, means just [something different from what is true, a departure from what is accepted]. If you think there is no truth, no right or wrong, then I suppose you can deny that anything is heretical. But if you believe in truth, in right/wrong, then identifying what isn’t the truth is important, even critical.  I’m not saying that we shouldn’t allow for differences of opinions, or that we should go around and label people that disagree with us in the smallest detail as heretics; but some things are clearly wrong. Writers of the New Testament took that seriously.  We should too.

•The year was AD 60––about three decades since the Christian movement began. Christians in the city of Colossae were exposed to the Covid of Heresies: and if infected, it threatened to spread and destroy what made them uniquely Christian. The question they were confronted with, the question that tests us as well is a simple one: “Is Jesus enough?” You say, “enough for what?”  Enough to forgive us? Enough to bring us into a right relationship with God? Enough to get us started following Jesus on the path of life?  OK. “Yes...but...”

•And that’s the problem: “but...” But introduces doubt that Jesus is enough to deal with life. You need something more.  Sure––Jesus died on a cross for our sins and was raised from the dead.  And we have to believe in Him, to trust what he did to forgive us.  But that isn’t enough.  You need more. Really? One writer said it this way: [Tchavidian quote]

•So, is Jesus enough? Or do you need more?  It would be easy for us to answer with the right answer: “Oh yes. He’s enough.” And then live like He isn’t.  As if it’s no big deal one way or the other.  You see, too often, it is not that we do not know the truth, but that we do not understand the implications of the truth we know. And so, Paul took pen in hand, and wrote furiously.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.  Let me introduce you to this short letter in the NT we call, “Colossians.”

I.    The Background

      A.  The Valley of Three Cities [map]

Three cities grew up near each other nestled in a spacious area called the Lycus Valley in the Roman province of Asia minor, what now is modern Turkey.  The largest and most prosperous of the three cities was Laodicea, which became an economic powerhouse (Think Boise.)  It was pretty impressive: NB a gate/a boulevard. The second city was Hieropolis, which was built near a number of hotsprings (see pics); it became a popular vacation spot and health resort.  It’s hot baths and wide streets drew tourist from all over.  (Think Couer d’Alene.) In the same valley, 10 miles to the east, at the opening of the pass through the mountains and on the southern banks of the Lycus River was the town of Colossae. Once as prominent as the other two, it fell into insignificance because as Rome constructed its system of roads and highways, it bypassed the city––not by much, but by enough that if you were going to Colossae, you had to go out of your way.  It was easier to stop in Laodicea, where the roads went right through that city. You could get anything in Laodicea that you could get in Colossae, except more and better.  Of all the cities mentioned in the New Testament, Colossae was the smallest, and least significant.  (Think Kuna.)  Then how did a church get started there and why did Paul write to them?

      B.   The Church’s Beginning:

During Paul’s third missionary journey, he settled in Ephesus, a strategic city in the region, and rented a school, and from there met with anyone interested, and taught about Christ: (Acts 19:8-10). Apparently, one of those living in Asia, in Colossae specifically, who had come to Ephesus, was a man by the name of Epaphras. Somehow, he heard Paul preach and was intrigued with this Jesus he proclaimed. He listened to this ex-Pharisee, now Christian teacher and soon believed in Jesus. It changed everything for him, so much so that when he returned to Colossae, he spoke up and shared about Christ with everyone he knew: (Col. 1:3-8).  The fact is, Paul had never been to Colossae, though it was only 100 miles from Ephesus: (2:1-2).  Yet, the church took root, and grew, and apparently was quite healthy for a number of years.  They clearly evidence the three traits that mark healthy believers (1:4-5)––a solid faith/trust in the Lord Jesus, a sacrificial love for one another, and a certain hope of heaven. But, less than a decade later, around 60 AD, the church was in trouble:

      C.  The Church in Trouble: Heresy!

•Epaphras saw Christian brothers and sisters wavering in their faith. A popular teaching was sweeping the area and it was based in Colossae. It attacked the notion that just because someone believed in Jesus, that was enough. These teachers were smart, they espoused an inclusive philosophy that took from all sorts of religions and melded them into one. They were cooking the books—taking a little from Judaism, a little from Greek mythology, a little from Christianity, spiced up with superstitions and a healthy dose of religious passion; but what they ended up with was not Christianity, though it at times resembled it, and sounded a bit like it, but wasn’t at all—it. People espousing this new faith claimed to have visions and dreams and angelic visitations, which the average Christian normally didn’t experience. They had secret knowledge that they offered to share with the initiated, the insiders––knowledge that went beyond simple faith in Christ, and allowed the person to see and know things that would lift him to a higher sphere of existence. More power. More knowledge. More experience. More.  More than Jesus.

•Epaphras in his bones knew something was really wrong with their teaching, but didn’t know how to answer them, but he knew who could.  Paul.  But Paul was sitting in a Roman prison awaiting trial before Caesar. So Epaphras packed his bags and set out for Rome––1000 miles away––to find Paul and ask for his help. That far, and requiring that much time and travel meant that Epaphras was really troubled. And when Paul heard the news, he took pen in hand, and went right to work.  What we have in our hands is that letter:

II.  The Letter

      A.  The Author: Paul (1:1) Like all letters in NT times, you began by identifying yourself, rather than by simply addressing the reader (e.g. “Dear Bob...” and you have to look at the end to find out who’s writing: “love, Steve.”) But notice this isn’t just any letter from just anyone: Paul claims to be an “apostle of the Christ, Jesus Himself.” Apostle is literally, “a sent one”––someone entrusted with a mission and the authority of the one sending him.  Paul is claiming to speak and teach on behalf of Jesus, a mission that is God’s will for him to pursue; and this authoritative letter is part of that mission/ministry.

      B.   The Recipients: Colossians (1:2) The designation saints doesn’t mean that they’re perfect, or unusually good people; every believer in Christ is, according to the NT, a saint––someone set apart for God.  In other words, you belong to God.  You’re his. You’re a saint. AND, he calls them, “faithful”–-not just believers, but those who continue to believe in Christ.

•Paul then reminds them of what they have already received in Christ––and it’s his favorite way of starting letters: (1:2b)  Because of God’s grace, we experience peace with God. We didn’t earn or deserve this. If anything we earned the opposite–-his anger and judgment. But because of Christ taking our judgment and paying for our guilt, God graciously forgives us and claims us, and loves us, and includes us; we experience peace with God in our souls.  God will never be at war with us again.

•Looking through the letter, we can piece together what this once popular heresy taught:

III. The Message

            A.  The Heresy: Christ + Something Else = Spirituality

                  1.  It diminished the person and work of Christ

•Because Paul so strongly affirms the deity of Christ, you can infer that they denied that Jesus was God. And because Paul insists that Jesus was a real person with a real body, you get the idea that they downplayed the humanity of Christ.  In other words, these teachers attacked the notion that Jesus was really anyone special––perhaps a good teacher, but not the final word from God, and certainly not God come in human form. There’s some indication that they taught that the physical universe was evil, something you tried to rid yourself of; so if Jesus was someone special, he couldn’t have had a human body–-he was likely an angel who simply appeared human.

                  2. It focused on external rituals rather than internal character.

•It was all about looking good, appearing spiritual. You don’t just believe in Jesus and that’s it. You’ve got to do things, religious things, things that make you better, deeper, more in touch with unseen world.  Like what?

√You need to restrict your diet (2:16a) There are certain things that make you dirty, that are therefore off the menu for spiritual people.  And:

√You need to observe certain  days/holidays (2:16b) This isn’t like observing Christmas or Easter; these are required observances with exacting rules about what you do and can’t do––rituals that you must perform at certain times in certain ways. And if you don’t comply the way they say you should, then they say you are less spiritual, even not acceptable to God. (We’ll learn a lot more about them later...)

√You should punish your body (it is bad and leads you to do bad things) (2:23)

•The fact is, these teachers turned a blind eye to the more ugly and internal sins (3:5, 8-9); all the while simply whitewashing the outside of the person through keeping religious rituals making the person appear wise when the real problem never was addressed (2:23)–the human heart.

            3. It taught a philosophy of fate and superstitions (2:8)

•Elemental spirits were those things or spirit beings that controlled events—we might call it fate or the stars.  So, according to these teachers, you needed to do certain things in certain ways to control fate. Otherwise bad things might happen to you, or good things might not. Why do ball players wear lucky socks, or people say they don’t want to jinx an event, so they do everything the same way they did it before, when a good outcome resulted? That’s the same thing. Then:

            4. It confused spiritual experiences with spiritual maturity (2:18)

•If you have these experiences, it means that you are spiritually mature. Actually, nothing is further from the truth. Even today, in the church at large, people talk about special experiences that give them status––being slain in the spirit (an event that has no precedence in the Bible), or laughing uncontrollably, or even legitimate experiences like speaking in tongues–-and thinking that having the experience means I’m on a higher spiritual plane than others who haven’t.  As we’ll see, not so.  Further:

            5.  It was judgmental (NB: 2:8a, 16a, 18a)

•They looked down on, and even criticized and condemned people who didn’t submit to their teaching and expectations. It feels bad when someone pronounces that you are deficient, second-rate, or flawed. Especially spiritually. The pressure to be a part of the happening thing was heavy.  Finally:

            6.  It promoted spiritual snobbery

It created haves and have-nots, a spiritual snobbery of innies and outies, of people who were spiritual and part of the chosen few and people who weren’t and wouldn’t ever be.  To that, Paul makes his purpose plain: everyone  (1:28).

So what’s the remedy?

      B.   The Remedy: Seeing that Jesus is Enough for All of Life

This in fact is the message of the whole letter: (See Chart)

Conclusion: [Quote WTB (p. 411)] It is a testimony to the effectiveness of Paul’s letter that this heresy is lost to the trashcan of history. Whatever hold it had initially on Christians in Colossae was loosened and destroyed by Paul’s teaching.  From what we know, the church there grew and thrived, not only in Colossae but also in Laodicea and Hieropolis.  What they didn’t know then, what they couldn’t have known was what was coming: two years later, an earthquake decimated the city and it never recovered.  Today, it is simply a mound of ground that hasn’t even been excavated.  [See pic.] Yet, Paul’s letter to that church there survives and still speaks volumes to us today. We very much need to hear and heed its message: Jesus is enough. So we need to be rooted in Him. And in the coming weeks, during this summer of simplicity, I pray we will.

•Challenge: Memorize 2:6-7!

A few years ago I picked up a book, a biography that captivated me with these words in its introduction:

[“...This is my attempt to show him as he was–a retelling of his life and a look at its meaning, a look at who he was as a man. It is commonplace now to see him as an ordinary man who did extraordinary things...But...he wasn’t ordinary at all. He wasn’t like other people. There was some kind of destiny playing out within him. So let me tell you about him. Let me tell you what hasn’t quite been said.”]

The writer of those words was Peggy Noonan, and her book was called, When Character Was King. It’s a book not about Jesus Christ, but about Ronald Reagan. The best biographies are written by people who were close to the individuals they wrote about. They may draw from interviews of co-workers and friends, but at heart, they speak and write as one who knew the person. What attracts me to these memoirs is my curiosity about what these important people were really like behind the scenes, when the cameras were turned off, when no one was looking. I love to read the anecdotes, the stories of private moments, and the reflections of those who actually knew these individuals. Usually the books written by insiders are motivated by a conviction that something more needs to be said in order to complete the picture so that history gets it right. The Gospel of John is that kind of memoir. It was written by an insider who, late in his life, felt compelled to say about Jesus what hadn’t yet been said. (Let me back up:)

[WHY FOUR GOSPELS?]

The NT starts with four Gospels—[“Gospel” means Great News!] At the core of the Bible is great news––news of the coming of a very important person. You cannot understand the Bible without understanding that in the ancient past, God promised that a rescuer, a deliverer, a Savior would come; that man’s sinfulness and self-destructiveness would only be solved not by laws, or more specific moral rules, not even by religious institutions or political governments, but ultimately only by a unique person: That promised one in Hebrew was called The Messiah, or in Greek, the Christ. And [The Gospels are about the Messiah, the Christ.] So Christ is not Jesus’ last name. Jesus Christ, Mary and Joseph Christ, with the Christ brothers…it’s a title of the Promised One. The Good News proclaimed by the NT is that Jesus is that person––the Christ.

Shortly after the death and resurrection of Jesus, as the early church was born, the leaders commissioned Matthew, a ex-bookkeeper who had worked for the IRS of that day, but who left it all to follow Jesus and became one of the 12, to chronicle the teachings and miracles of Jesus. This was the first Gospel and served the young Jewish Christian church as it grew and spread (Acts 1-12). As the church made inroads into the Gentile world, Christians needed an account of Christ’s teachings and life that addressed the questions and concerns that Greeks and Romans had––and Paul commissioned Luke, a Greek Physician and Christian to research and write the Gospel that bears his name. This was the Gospel that served much of the non-Jewish church as seen in Acts 13-28. The third Gospel, Mark, is a compilation of Peter’s sermon notes which he used as he preached in Rome in the late 50s. All three of these accounts of Jesus share the same perspective and cover largely the same events and teachings: so: [The first three Gospels are called synoptics] (syn = same, optic = to see)—i.e. they have the same perspective. BUT the 4th Gospel is written much later, and makes a unique contribution. So who wrote it and why another?

[THE FOURTH GOSPEL]

[A.  The author is John], the Apostle, although he never claims to be the author in the Gospel. But few doubt it. Irenaeus, an early church father who lived about 185 AD was a student of Polycarp, whose pastor was the Apostle John. And acc to Irenaeus, Polycarp said that John wrote that 4th Gospel late in his life, in the 90s. He had lived through the persecutions of the insane Caesar Nero who crucified Peter and beheaded Paul. He survived the persecutions of Domitian––the calculating and evil emperor who exiled him to the rocky island of Patmos. In the last decade of his life, he wrote what we know as the Gospel of John, the three letters of 1/2/3 John, and the Revelation.

But though John never identifies himself as the author of the Gospel, he does tip his hand. Five times he identifies himself as the one whom Jesus loved. At first, you might think that John was bragging, or saying Jesus loved him more than others. Not at all. As one person explained: [Quote: “It simply expresses with disarming honesty the wonder of this disciple over the fact that the Lord loved him.” —The MacArthur Bible Handbook/x] He never quite recovered the realization that Jesus really, deeply, truly loved him sacrificially and unconditionally. Nothing is more important to John. Or should be to us.

[B.  His purpose is clear] (20:30-31):

30 “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”

In short: He intended to secure from his readers a positive verdict about Jesus, and lead us to experience life—abundant, unending life with God, now and forever. To those ends, John submits and arranges his material so we will see and hear and come to a conclusion about Jesus—the only One who can offer the gift of life.

[C.  His unique contributions]

[1) intimate encounters] To help us make our decision about Jesus, John shows how others struggled with Christ’s claims. As someone who saw behind the scenes, John described some intimate encounters to show how Jesus related to them: the sincere but confused religious seeker, Nicodemus; the cynical woman from Samaria who had had 6 husbands & had given up and was living with a significant other; the paraplegic at the pool, caught up in his own pitiful, limiting circumstances; the disheartened fisherman, Peter who smells the backwash of his own failures & wonders if God would ever want to use him again––these are the people Jesus meets, speaks to, & offers life to. Through them, he speaks to us.

[2) probing questions] Peppered throughout this Gospel are lots of questions––153 of them! People ask Jesus Qs, Jesus himself asks Qs, and often answers a Q with a Q. It’s as if John is saying, “It’s OK to ask! Investigate! Seek! But be aware––in the process, you may find yourself asking yourself some very penetrating Qs! And these questions will be the most important ones of your life!”

His Strategy: Let me show you how John presents his Gospel: [Chart] The Gospel begins not where the other three begin—with the birth of Christ or the beginning of His ministry, but in eternity past, with the Triune God communing together, creating all that exists, and determining to invade our world as one of us…

III.    [ZEROING IN]

[A. Who is Jesus?]

[1.  Public Perceptions] Coming to a conviction about Jesus is the most important thing anyone will ever do. It’s never really automatic for any of us, and it wasn’t for them either. NB the responses John records: [1:29, 3:2, 4:42, 7:12, 7:41, 7:46, 9:17, 10:20, 10:33, 19:6, 20:28].  Who was this man? We don’t have to rely on what others say about Him; we can to right to the horse’s mouth—you can listen to Jesus Himself:

[2.  Seven Self-Identifying Statements: “I Am…”] (8:56-59):  In the Old Testament, God claimed His name was, I Am—implying He is eternal, self-existent, always present, completely sovereign. So when God was sending Moses to Egypt to lead a rescue of the Jews, Moses asked God what His name was, and notice how God responded: [Ex. 3:13-14/x] So Jesus is saying, “I Am.” He is that God. No wonder they picked up stones. But that claim is the basis for His seven more specific claims—all impossible if He were just a guy, a normal person:

6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

Speaking to a hungry crowd, claimed to be the basic staple of life: the sustainer and satisfier: Claimed that he alone can meet the most basic & deepest needs of a person.

8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

To people lost in confusion, doubt, needing light. When we say, "you're blind"--we mean "you're confused, or ignorant, or unwilling or unable to understand. So to have light is to see, to understand, to grasp the truth. He was saying that by Him you see everything else. Apart from Him, everything is dark.

10:7-10 7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

To those turned off to tradition, often the victims of religion itself, He asserts that He is the door, the gate, the entrance to protection and pasture.  Others might use you, prey upon you, but He will protect you, and provide for you, and give you life overflowing, life in abundance!

10:11-14 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me…

To people who felt alone, unknown, unloved, uncared for--just another anonymous face in the crowd: He is not like those who care only as a job, a duty, only for profit; He is One who truly cares, who lays down His own life for us, in whom we can fully trust.

11:25-26 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

At the funeral of one of his closest friends, where all were grieving the loss: claims to be the answer to life's final question--death itself. Insists that what happens after death is bound up in a relationship with Him.  (In fact, he says even more than that--)

14:6 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Asserts that He alone has the exclusive claim to life--whether new life, genuine life, or eternal life; and that knowing God, having a relationship with God is impossible apart from Him. (Still, he is not just some ticket to life; He is more:)

15:1, 5 1 "I am the true vine…5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

Jesus claims to be the source of and sustainer of real life. Lots of people walking around dead inside--spiritually like "day of the living zombies." They are spiritually dead, just haven't caught up physically. But Jesus says that He can make my life fruitful...make it productive, full of meaning.

NB three common themes:

√Exclusiveness: Jesus allows no room for competition; no alternatives.

√Genuineness: sense of reality and clarity; doesn't sound like a madman for claiming these things, but frighteningly sane, rational.

√Perceptiveness: His words are penetrating. Hits nail on the head: the issue is as much quality of life as it is length of life. If life is short but full, we feel cheated. If long but empty we feel disillusioned.  Must have both. He offers both. In the future, unending, undying life; and right, genuine, fruitful life. Both, he claims, are His alone to give.

[B. Why should I believe Him?  Seven Confirming Signs]

(Look them up! 2:1-11, 4:43-54, 5:1-15, 6:1-15, 6:16-24, 9:1-41, 11:1-44) Among the many things Jesus did, John selects seven as signs––miracles that validate Jesus’ claims and teaching. (A sign is a visible proof of an otherwise unprovable claim.) To the degree that the claim is fantastic, to that degree the sign must equal the weight of the claim. You can’t say, “I am God” and then do a card trick. Big deal. But if you claim to be the light of the world, and then open the eyes of a man born blind––that makes me think. If you say you are the resurrection and life, and then stop a funeral by raising a corpse, it makes an impact. That is exactly what Jesus did. Jesus said things that no other man ever said, and proved them by doing things no other man has ever done.

26x John records that Jesus began a statement with, Truly, truly, I say to you. That should make us sit up and take notice. Jesus is not admitting that at other times he tends to stretch the truth, but that what he is about to say, we need to listen very carefully to and take very seriously, even if it seems unbelievable. He’s telling us the sober truth. (So?)

[C. What is He offering me?  The gift of unending Life] (3:16)

34x in gospel the offer is defined, presented, and held out to us. What does Jesus offer to you? Life. Unending, undying life; full, fruitful, satisfying life; abundant life that will never be thwarted by people, or circumstances, or even death; life as God originally intended it to be lived: hand in hand with Him.

In the upper room during the few hours before Good Friday, John captures’ Jesus’ comfort and assurance to His confused disciples. In fact, what He says there is a glimpse of the rest of the NT in seed form—the indwelling and empowering of the Spirit, the command to love one another as X has loved us, the need for fellowship, the pattern of servanthood, the opposition by the world, the necessity of staying connected to God in obedient faith, and the promise of His return. This is the life.

IF your life has been hard, jaded: take courage--Jesus offers you new life, a new start. Not just rearranging the old habits, rethinking the old sins and failures. He offers forgiveness. Restoration. New power. Being clean inside. Fresh purpose. Assurance, confidence, forever--with the promise that you'll never be judged. Instead, when you die, you'll be welcomed into His eternal kingdom.

IF you are a Christian, then he offers you real life--fruitful, purposeful life with power for today, and hope for tomorrow. He offers you a relationship with Him in which you will increasingly marvel at his unconditional, and unbelievable love for you. He will work in you, and through you, and do more than you would ever believe possible around you. (What's the catch?)

         [D. What does He want from me?  To believe in Him] About  100x in John the sole requirement in John to receive life, the one thing Jesus asks--even demands from you--is to believe: i.e. to trust in, rely upon something or someone. We first must come the conviction that Jesus is who He said He was—that He was the truth and spoke the truth about Himself and us.  hen we must believe that He actually did what He claimed to do: die for your sins and make the way open to God through forgiveness. Then you must trust Him with your life; must trust Him that He will give you real unending life if you believe in Him as your Savior. (Illust of The Chair)

The pivot-point in each person’s life is how one responds to Jesus, the Son of God. Do you believe in Him, acknowledging who He is and what He has done? Do you listen to Him and trust Him with your life? That’s what believing Jesus is.

Once that faith exists, however small, we begin to experience life. We grow and develop as we learn more about Him, and our trust in Him spreads from not only our forgiveness and our promised destiny, but to every other area of our lives: our purpose, calling contentment, marriage, job, health, relationships, happiness...the fruitfulness of our lives will increase, like a healthy branch attached to a lifegiving vine as we abide or remain dependent upon and connected to Him who has loved us first.

Conclusion: This is the message, the promise, the offer of the Gospel of John. It is Great News. And it all centers on Jesus, the Christ, our Savior.

WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE A LOSERFaith Community • John 21:15-25Introduction:Last week we left Peter and the rest of the disciples standing around a charcoal fire with Jesus. It’s subdued because of the many things yet unspoken––the undiscussed failures, the unanswered questions, the unacknowledged elephant in the room—their abandoning Jesus at His arrest and Peter’s thrice denial of even knowing Him. But Jesus doesn’t rush, doesn’t command or rebuke them, or launch into a review of their failures; instead, he unhurriedly prepares, and cooks and serves them breakfast, and warms them with his fellowship and encouragement. He is taking the initiative to break the ice. Despite what they feel and fear, Jesus is not done with them. He has not washed his hands of them. He doesn’t think their failures are fatal––or write them off as no longer useful. If you don’t remember anything else from this week, I want you to remember this: The Lord lovesyou and wants to useyou despite your failures.He absolutely wantsto use you. He intendsto. But he won’t, he can’t, unless we are in a position spiritually to be used. There are some pre-conditions, some qualifications that in His mind make us usable to Him. Surprisingly, it isn’t education or extensive experience; it isn’t having a certain personality or work ethic; it isn’t even having a great track record or not having a failure-pockmarked past. Instead, Jesus looks at our hearts, and draws us into a conversation exposing the reason why we would want to be useful to Him. Though seven disciples are standing around the fire, the focus is on Peter who denied Jesus three times. In questioning Simon Peter, Jesus is also indirectly questioning each of the other disciples, including us who get to listen in. And as we watch this quiet interchange, we’ll see three things Jesus is looking for in those whom He wants to use: And the first is:1.THE RIGHT MOTIVE: LOVEFOR JESUS•The fire is smoldering and its warmth feels pleasant in the cool morning air. They have enjoyed baked bread and fish, and the warmth of the company of the Lord who has served them. There’s small talk and a few laughs about how quickly so many fish (153!) could have been netted––no one would believe this fish story! There’s a lull in the conversation, and glancing toward Peter, Jesus begins to probe. Listen again to the entire conversation, then we’ll focus in on the parts: 15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. (vss. 15-17).Three simple but profoundly penetrating questions, followed by three humble answers. As Peter had denied even knowing Jesus 3x around a charcoal fire, now he is questioned 3x by the One he denied around a similar fire. I’m sure the moment surfaces fresh feelings of Peter’s failure; but Jesus won’t let him wallow there––he re-commissions him for usefulness. He wantsto use us. Despite our failures, we are not useless to Him. Let me make a few observations: 1. All three questions deal with love––but the questions and answers differ: In the first two Qs, Jesus uses a different word for love––a word often connected with faithfulness, commitment and unselfishness (agape); Peter answers with a term of affection, friendship and intimacy (philos). It is as if Peter doesn’t trust himself after his denials. The Phillips paraphrase of the New Testament brings out the meaning: “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?”“Yes, Lord…You know that I am Your friend.”“Simon, son of John, do you love Me?”“Yes, Lord…You know that I am Your friend.”“Simon, son of John, areyou My friend?”“Lord, You know everything. You know that I am Your friend.”John 21:15-17 (Phillips Version)Many scholars deny that the variation of terms between the two words for love are anything more than a stylistic variation. They mean the same thing. But I’m not so sure. Peter himself later uses the two words to describe two degrees of love in a list of Christian characteristics we’re to develop: 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection (philadelphia), and brotherly affection with love (agape). (2Peter 1:5-7)The point is that Jesus seems to be poking Peter, testing his heart, probing his motivation. 2. The first Q is a comparison(vs. 15a): When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”More thanwhat? The fish and boats? Possibly. We should love Jesus more than we love our occupations or jobs or even our hobbies. Or it could mean, “more than you love these friends of yours?” And certainly we should love Jesus more than we love any other person––even our friends who might by example or pressure pull us away from following Jesus. But I don’t think either is what Jesus meant. Instead: “more than these other disciples”––remember what Peter boasted? 31 Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” 33 Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” 34 Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” 35 Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same. (Mt. 26:31-35)He was so certain of his own loyalty & strength. A number of years back, Gordon MacDonald, the nationally known speaker & author of the book, Magnificent Marriage, stated in a radio interview with Focus on the Family, that the one area he would neverfail in was his marriage or family. Shortly after, he had an affair and nearly ruined his marriage, his testimony and his ministry. Later, he observed:“An unguarded strength and an unprepared heart is a double weakness.”—Gordon MacDonald, Rebuilding Your Broken WorldWhen you think you are so strong it could never happen to you, you are very vulnerable. And the failure that results often reveals just how wrong we were to trust in our own strength. That is how Peter felt. But now, on the other side of his betrayal, he does not address the comparison, but sticks only to himself: “You know that I love you.”3. Also, all three answers of Peter appeal to Jesus’ knowledge––”you know” (vss. 15, 16), and then “you know all things! You know...” (17). Once again, he doesn’t trust his own profession of loyalty––he looks to Jesus who knows him better than he knows himself. (You do know that Jesus knows you better than you know yourself, and loves you better than you love yourself...and wants to use you, to work in you and through you, don’t you?) Why is Jesus grilling Peter like this? What’s the point?•loveis a major (if not the primary) theme in John’s Gospel—the Father’s love for Christ (3:35), Christ’s love for his Father (14:31), God’s love for the world (3:16), Christ’s love for us (13:1; 34; 15:9), our love for Him (14:15), and our love for one another (13:34-35; 15:12). Love is the way; it’s why God has saved us, how He now responds to us, and how we are to respond to Him and how we are to treat everyone else.•And if you want to know how to increase your love for Him—ask John, the apostle, who penned this Gospel, but who never identified Himself by name, but rather by the phrase, the one whom Jesus loved.He never recovered from the fact that Jesus really, actually loved Him. Toward the end of his life, this disciple penned these words: We love because He first loved us. (1John 4:19.)You want to increase your love for Christ and for others? Fasten your thoughts on this: He…loves…you!•So Jesus wants all of us to serve Him out of love for Him, with the right heart and motive. It’s not enough to serve out of a desire for personal fulfillment, or achievement, or significance, or reward or even to unselfishly serve humanity. Only a deep love for Christ will take us through life and motivate us to continue to serve with the right heart. And if you want to know how to increase your love for him? Ponder his love for you. And if you do profess tolove Him––2.THE RIGHT ATTITUDE: WILLINGNESS TO SERVEOTHERSNotice that Jesus didn’t wait to commission Peter until the questioning was over. After each reply, he issues a command (15b, 16b, 17b): feed my lambs...shepherd my sheep...feed my sheep.This is no small thing: both Old and New Testaments describe leaders as shepherds––people who feed, lead, guard and guide flocks of sheep––some of the dumbest and dirtiest and most vulnerable of animals. Don’t believe me? Watch this video of dumb sheep: [Video] That’s us. But if that isn’t very flattering, notice what is: Jesus claims us as belonging to him––my lambs, mysheep, my sheep. He claims us. He wants us. We’re His––stupid and stinking as we might be. And he soberly is entrusting believers to Peter as a Shepherd/Pastor (same word in original!) I’m sure this shocked and surprised Peter. I would have expected a much more rigorous inquisition before restoring him. But Jesus saw more in Peter than Peter saw in Peter. He gives him the assignment of feeding (i.e. teaching) and tending/shepherding (i.e. leading, guarding and guiding), not only just new believers (lambs—the most vulnerable and needy) but the flock itself (the church). What Jesus said Peter never forgot: 5:1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (1Peter 5:1-4)•What about us? Not everyone is meant to be a church leader; but everyone is meant to be useful to Him, to serve Him. If you dolove Him, it isn’t enough just to feel warm toward Him, or profess that you love him, or even sing and worship Him. He wants that love for Him to be expressed in serving Him. How, and when, and where is all between you and Him. Why–-is very clear: out of love and devotion to Him. You love Him? Serve Him by serving others who belong to Him. Some people quickly discount their getting involved more than just attending (which they do about half the time) because 1) “I’m busy,” “I’m tired,” “I’m retired”; 2) or “What could Ido anyway”? or 3) “There aren’t any appropriate places to serve or opportunities that match what I’m good at or want to do. That’s why I’m not serving right now.” •But for the one who really lovesJesus, he/she will find a way, a place, to be useful, to serve Him and those who follow Him. In fact, you don’t even need a formal place or position to serve Jesus by serving others. You can pray, “Show me Lord someone I can encourage with a word. Lead me to someone with a need that I can meet. Someone I can share the Good News with, or speak God’s Word to; or someone I can help or protect or give to. Because I love You. And I know you love them. So I love them too.•Jesus wants to use those who love Him to serve others...But Jesus knew that if He were to use Peter as He intended, Peter would not only need to have the right motive and attitude, but also the right commitment. We can say, “Use me, O Lord...I love you and want you to use me in serving others...but on my own terms: where I want, with whom I want, to whom I want, under the right conditions, and only on Sundays between 9:30 and 10:15.” Be prepared to be used by God very little, unless you have:3. THE RIGHT COMMITMENT: REGARDLESS... Wait. “Regardless?” ...Of what? A. Regardless of the cost to you (vs. 18-19): 18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”At the end of his life, Peter will be beaten, so much so that he won’t be able to dress himself; he’ll be taken against his will to a place where they will stretch out his hands. This is a prediction of crucifixion––the same brutal, horrible death that Jesus endured. Eusebius, the early church historian (325 AD) reported that Peter was crucified in Rome under the rampage of Nero (65 AD), about the same time that Paul the Apostle was beheaded. Jesus: “If I use you and you serve me, it may be costly.” Early Christians served others in costly ways: they were known to give so freely that Roman writers termed them financially stupid. They adopted unwanted, abandoned babies left to die by the walls of the city; they gave each other their time & encouragement, and shared their possessions and even risked their lives for each other. What might serving Him cost you? They really weren’t looking at the cost: they were too busy just following Jesus––taking their cue from His example, following the promptings of His Spirit, listening and responding to His Word. Follow Him––regardless of what it might cost or where it might lead. •I can’t leave this without pointing out that Jesus knew when and how Peter would die. Peter said Jesus knew everything.Does he? Do you realize he knows when and how you will die? That is both startling and comforting to me. I want for me/you what John says about Peter--that by Peter’s death, he would “glorify God.” Paul echoed that conviction: “...it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.”(Phil. 1:20)Jesus is wanting to use those who love Him enough to serve others regardless of the cost, and... B. Regardless of what others are doing: (vs. 20-23) 20 Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” 23 So the saying spread abroad among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?”NB Peter’s Q: “But what about...” (a terrible way to start any Q to God) ...what about Mr. Lovey-Dovey? The one that You love... What about him?What will he have to do? What will he have to give up or sacrifice?” Peter is straying into the same territory that got him in trouble before––comparing himself with others. Jesus pounces: “Peter––you just keep your eyes on me. Follow Me.” Clearly, Peter’s job is to follow Jesus, not compare himself to John or anyone else. •One writer observed: “The key to the Christian life is a simple one: each day, every day, moment by moment, follow Jesus. Don’t be distracted with what might happen if...or when...We mustn’t neglect what is plainly in front of us…Simple obedience to Jesus’ command, Follow Me, is the key issue in every Christian’s life.” (The Bible Knowledge Commentary)•The rebuke is misunderstood later by some who said that in John’s lifespan Jesus would return. John himself corrects that mistake and points out that Jesus didn’t say that––he said, “If...” and left it uncertain. What is certain is that Jesus would return; and that what Jesus has in store for John is no business of Peter’s.•And us? “What about so and so?” is one of the deeper ditches we can all fall into. Do you love Jesus enough to serve others regardless of what it might cost or what others are/are not doing? John Calvin expressed his determination this way: “Resolved: That all men should glorify God.Resolved second: Whether others do or not, I will.”Jesus doesn’t want you to focus on what others are doing, or not doing; it’s not about fairness, or equal sacrifice; it’s simply about following Jesus’ lead: “I’ll go wherever He takes me. I do what He gives me to do. I’ll stand up when He says so and speak up when He gives me opportunity. I want to be used by Him to serve others in whatever way I can. Why? Because I love him. Why? Because He so loved me first.”•Being useful to Jesus, serving Him begins with a single Q: Not what am I good at?Nor what are the opportunities?, nor even what’s the cost? But: “Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me?” John ends His Gospel with this:Conclusion: (vss. 24-25): 24 This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. 25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.John has written all these things––not as a fanciful storybook, not as encouraging myths & legends, but as sober truth. He saw it. It all happened exactly as he reported it. You can stake your life on it. You can stake your destiny on it. But what John wrote isn’t exhaustive––it isn’t everything that Jesus was or did or said––but what John wrote is true. And what is absolutely true is that Jesus is the most amazing person who has ever lived. And no wonder: He is God with Skin. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is grace & truth. Grace & Truth. Grace to be forgiven. Grace to be remade. Grace to start again. Grace to be useful. Grace to follow Him. Grace to live well and die in a way that glorifies God. As we end our time today, let this short video from the Skit Guys remind us of that grace that makes us love Jesus & serve Him all the more: (Watch The Skit Guys Video).

Good morning, Church! My name is Trent, and I am one of the Pastors here. I am excited to bring us to God’s word this morning. We will be reading from John 21:1-14. Please turn there in your Bibles or follow along on the screen behind me.

I want to invite your participation by asking you to pick up the emotional register of this text. Jesus has been raised from the dead! He is alive! This is not a text about Jesus as the Suffering Servant, but Jesus as the conquering King, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, who beat death, who came out of the grave, and who is now ministering in his resurrected body to his disciples. It’s right for us to be sad when we face a sorrowful text. Likewise, it is right for us to be joyful when we see joy in the text. All of us have a range in our personality, but this morning I will do my best to give you joy, and I expect no less from you. You are invited to clap, “Amen,” “Mmmmhmmm,” or just sit there smilingly. Let’s lean in together and experience what God has for us! Remember, I am preaching first to myself. The gas pedal of joy is going down starting now.

This text is both about the revelation of Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, but also about the transformation of a man named Peter. Peter, the man who denied Jesus three times, but who would later write, “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” (1 Peter 5:2-4).

So, how does God take a coward and make a minister out of him? You’re about to find out: Jesus reveals himself repeatedly.

21 After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. 8 The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

9 When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. 14 This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Father, you are the Creator King who said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures… (Gen. 1:20). You saw that it was good! You are the God who sunk the earth in the waters of the flood, saving only Noah and his family (Gen. 6). You are the God who says, “…the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Hab. 2:14). You are the God who commands that, “the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Ps. 19:1). You are the God who sits in the heavens, doing all that pleases you (Psalm 115:3). You are a God who is infinitely happy and infinitely generous. So, then, we pray: “Let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14). We want to know and experience you this morning.

Jesus, “You are the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature…You uphold the universe by the word of your power” (Heb. 1:3). Through you all things were made, and without you, nothing was made (John 1:3). You are the one who redeems, saves, and substitutes for us so that we might have a relationship with God. You are the one who reveals the glory of God. So, we pray that you would reveal yourself in a fresh way this morning. You are the God who makes God known (John 1:18). You are the Word made flesh. Without you, we can do nothing! (John 15:5) Come now and dwell with us through your word.

Holy Spirit, guide us into all truth! (John 16:13). Throw us into an ocean of joy. Open our eyes to behold wonderful things from your Word. Teach us to trust and believe that the Scriptures are breathed out by God (2 Timothy 3:16). Make us competent ministers of the Gospel through the preached word. Cause us to profit from this so that we are ready to teach, reprove, correct, and train for righteousness so that we are equipped for every good work. In Christ’s name we pray, amen.

Great stories have epilogues. Otherwise, we can’t handle the emotional let-down of a great story ending! The seventh in The Chronicles of Narnia, the Last Battle concludes with an invitation to the epilogue, “And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.” Epilogues prevent the human heart from the collapsing into despair as a great story ends. Epilogues communicate that the story continues. Eternity is waiting. It gets better!

In the same way, John ends his Gospel, not surprisingly, with an epilogue. It seemed that John was shutting things down with John 20:30-31 as he wrote,

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

What a beautiful place to end! Right? Go! Believe in Jesus. Live happily ever after! But, the more you read John, the more you see that John is a master of layered meanings. John can hear his delighted audience calling out for one more story before bed. “Can we have just one more story, John?”

But he can also hear his curious, close readers asking, “But, what about Peter? Did it all work out in the end with Peter?”

And, just to pique our interest, John really ends his book with: “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written,” (John 21:25).  Here, John gives us a primer on how to keep your kids up all night! What?

“John, tell us more! We want to hear more about Jesus. What else did he do? What else did you see?”

You can almost hear John leaning into whisper, “Who knows? Maybe I’ll write another book. I certainly could! Goodnight!”

What a tease!

John expects that you’ll go back to John 1 if you want more.  He expects that you’ll read your whole Bible over again if you want more. He expects that you want more! That you are leaning in, gazing at Jesus. That you’re beginning to experience some joy in your life, which manifests as renewed curiosity to see all things through the lens of knowing and enjoying God.

John 21 is a final glimpse at the King of Glory.

Many writers know that the hardest part of writing is bringing all the loose threads together at the end. John does this masterfully.

So, why is this story in our Bibles? Because God is glorified by joyful resolve. God is glorified as he takes every single loose thread of our lives and weaves it together perfectly according to his design. God enjoys and never grows tired or weary of fixing broken things. God brings this resolve through repeated exposures to Jesus.

So, here is the question that this text begs: Why is it that our view of God is so small? Why is it that we picture God growing frustrated with us and our sins and shortcomings? Why is it that we picture God merely putting up with us? Why don’t we picture God in radiant splendor, beaming with joy? Why don’t we picture God like Zephaniah did, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” (Zephaniah 3:17)? Why have we numbed ourselves with a half-hearted God, quite like ourselves?

The answer is sin. Sin shrinks our vision of God. Sin breaks us and our world into a thousand stories of unresolved tension. Sin makes us picture God as miserly. The older you get, the more the streets of your inner life are lined with question marks. Forgetful back alleys of unfocused malaise. Sin distorts our vision of God and of ourselves.

Because of sin, our vision of who God really is, is constantly shrinking to fit our circumstances, current experiences, and prior knowledge of him. Sin causes our finite minds to place the true knowledge of God like a wool sweater in the dryer. That camp experience, that gazing at the stars, that time in God’s word, that beautiful intimacy with God shrinks into a frazzled, tattered, and broken semblance of belief. Obedience to God’s word feels like a chore rather than joy. Prayer feels like talking to a wall rather than talking to the Creator King. Preaching or Bible study is filled with a constant glancing at the watch rather than riveted gaze on God’s very word.

What is the solution to this? God is. He speaks. He speaks again. He speaks a third time. He shows himself in multiple exposures. He is a God who gives many chances to hear. He gives more grace. He sings louder. He exults over you.

Sin, on the other hand, motivates us to patch ourselves up and present ourselves like everything is okay, even while we drag our broken baggage behind us. Sin manifests itself in our lives as we try to pretend that we have more resolve than we do. We wonder why we’re so tired, but I would submit to you that we’re so tired because we fail to see God as tireless. We fail to see God as the infinite, all-powerful, all-able, all-loving, all-knowing God that he really is!

Let me ask you: does your life make sense? Are you not, like me, swimming in a sea of question marks and unresolve? Do you not have more on your plate than you can handle? Sin would have us believe that God puts all this on us so that we can earn God’s favor. God, on the other hand, has so orchestrated your circumstances to simultaneously magnify the desperation of your need and your complete inability to save yourself, and to magnify the glory, beauty, and goodness of God’s saving work in Christ.

Let me ask you: does added responsibility increase your anxiety, or does it increase your expectancy that God will do great things and fill you with joy?

The fact is that God made us needy, weak, and desperate for God on purpose. Yet, sin says, “We have no more need of God. We can manage our way through life.” Today, God means to collapse your misconceptions of God with the weight of his glory.

If you have been disappointed with the Christian life, wondering if this is all there is, then look no further than John 21.

Jesus reveals himself repeatedly.

Jesus Reveals Himself Again (John 21:1-3).

Jesus Reveals Himself Personally (John 21:4-7a).

Jesus Reveals Himself Hospitably (John 21:7b-9).

Jesus Reveals Himself Intuitively (John 21:10-13).

Jesus Reveals Himself Repeatedly (John 21:14).

 

Again. Personally. Hospitably. Intuitively. Repeatedly.

First, Jesus reveals himself again. For Jesus, one resurrection appearance is not enough! He enjoys showing up repeatedly. He appears in the forty days between his resurrection and his ascension, on multiple occasions, to a variety of group sizes. If you read Acts 1, or 1 Corinthians 15, you can see that Jesus did not stop this ministry business after the resurrection. He is surprisingly not eager to leave and be rid of these people. In fact, it seems like he gets even busier in his ministry as he passes things off to his apostles and disciples. His post-resurrection appearances take on a distinctly New Heavens and New Earth kind of feel to them. It’s almost as if the New Creation has invaded the present.

Illustration: I think we can easily lose how exciting this time would have been. Even if a best friend surprises you from out of state, you are filled with joy. I remember at my 25th birthday, my brothers surprised me by coming from San Francisco to Southern California. How much more so if someone comes back from the dead?!

What is Jesus bringing by all these appearances? The resolution to his earthly ministry.  So, we read:

21 After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Here, the disciples go back to their hometown. After three and a half years following Jesus, they meander back to Galilee.

Notice how John introduces these characters as though we don’t know them. This serves as a new beginning. The seven friends walk back along the streets of Galilee as totally new men in their old town.

 

Illustration: If you have ever done this, you know how deeply alienating it is. After graduating college, having children, and losing parents, you walk the halls of your elementary school. You see the tiny desks, the classroom decorations, and the class pet all staring at you. You’ve changed. The classroom hasn’t.

 

So, Peter does the only thing he knows to do in this moment of tension: “I am going fishing.” The fact that Peter is impetuous, a man of action, a man of brute strength and resolve has not changed. He is still the impulsive, action-oriented person that he’s always been, even after the resurrection. He is still the leader of the band, even as all six of the other disciples follow him into the boat.

John is careful to note that Jesus revealed himself “in this way.” In other words, the meaning is found as much in the method as the message. All of this is set up for something.  You’ll remember that they are near the sea of Galilee, or the Sea of Tiberias. The last time that this location showed up was in John 6:

After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias (John 6:1).

There are a lot of parallels between these two stories (John 6 and John 21). The location, the bread and the fish, the people. Previously in John, 5,000 men were fed along these banks. This was a place of great expectations, history, and meaning. And yet, Peter feels the impulse to provide for himself. To take action.

As the disciples got into the boat, no doubt they heard the echoes of their previous experiences on these waters. The storms, walking on water, the times they thought the boat was going to sink in life and in ministry.

One memory might have been particularly prominent:

3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”  (Luke 5:3-10)

You can hear Peter whispering to himself: I miss my friend. Where is he? He should be here by now.

As they put out onto the waters, you can feel him regret his betrayals and wonder if Jesus will ever address it. Maybe he can hear his version of Jesus condemning him, “You really are a sinful man! Depart from me.” Maybe, Peter thinks, he came back for Thomas and John, but not for me. Maybe he really didn’t mean to make me all the things he said he was going to.

Peter’s vision of Jesus is shrinking as he labors all night and catches nothing.

All night they labor and come up empty-handed. Peter, the man of action, the paragon of productivity, can’t feed his hungry men. Peter, the man who always emptied his inbox, never sleeps, and always seems ahead of the band, is stuck.  After three and a half years in Jesus’ training school, the death, burial, resurrection, and appearances of Jesus, these men are all physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted. They are in Galilee at the end of themselves, and by themselves. “That night they caught nothing.”

In this emptiness, it feels like God doesn’t exist. In this stillness, quiet, they are being challenged to the core.

If he’s there, maybe he doesn’t care. Maybe he’s willing to let his children go hungry.

Surprise!

Jesus reveals himself again. In this way. At this moment of deep absence and emptiness.

So, we can apply this point: get before the Lord in the morning. Enter the silence.

Expect Jesus to reveal himself to you through his word. Meet him at the dawn of every morning ready and eager to hear from Jesus.

Read your Bible, join a Bible study, Join a Life Group.

Come to this place with empty hands, ready to receive grace.

Here, Jesus reveals himself again. There are seven men in the boat. They’ve caught nothing. They are exhausted, soaked, and sore, and believing that they are very much on their own, which leads us to our next point.

 

Second, Jesus reveals himself personally. Jesus is not merely interested in revealing propositions about himself. Facts. Axioms. Or, truth claims. Jesus doesn’t speak from the clouds saying, “Remember who you are, Peter!” Jesus is interested in intimacy, self-disclosure, being known as he is. He is interested in drawing near to us, and transforming us into new creatures. Information about God is always meant to lead to relationship with God. So, Jesus stands on the shoreline of all our disappointments:

So, we read,

 

4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”

 

There are a few reasons why this personal gesture is so significant for Peter and John.

First, Jesus stands on the shore at the break of dawn. John again draws on the theme of light and darkness to reveal who Jesus is. Just as the morning sun comes over the horizon, Jesus, the God-man, the man of light, stands on the shore that he created. Jesus is a morning person. Jesus has now attained super hero status. The God-man who beat death is now standing alive and well. Here, we sense echoes from John 1: “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” It’s Jesus, but they can’t see that it’s Jesus. So, then, they hear his voice before they see his face. Jesus stands facing the seven empty men, who can’t provide for themselves. This is how John begins to put the pieces together.

Second, Jesus initiates the conversation. On the shore at dawn, Jesus cries out almost jokingly “How’s it going kids!? Long night?”  Or, “Haven’t you caught any fish?” While they all reply collectively, “No!” I wonder what Peter’s face looked like at this moment. Remember, he doesn’t know it’s Jesus. I imagine Peter might have been thinking, “What a jerk move! Got any fish!?” Who does that guy think he is?! He has no idea what I’ve been through. Up all night! I’ve got to lead this ‘Church’ thing even on the back end of my failures. Thanks for putting a magnifying glass on my failure.”

Illustration: I’m sure Peter felt like this question was a question of his human dignity. I remember one time there was a well-to-do business man walking out of another church. Lauren and I were broke as we were in school, tired, exhausted, and very much unstable. We were uncertain of the future. The man walked with his wife on his arm all the way to his luxury vehicle, opened her door, took his sweet time, and then turned to Lauren on the passenger side, and then back to me as I was waiting for him to get out of my way, and said: “Hey, you forgot her door!” Oh man, if this wasn’t a church parking lot…My human dignity was questioned. You forgot to provide for your wife. You forgot to materially bless your spouse. Man, if you really loved your wife, you would be like me.

Jesus’ voice cries out, “Stuck in the mud?! At a dead end?! No fish, huh?!” Nope. None. Notice too that Peter doesn’t ask for this guys’ help. He doesn’t say, “Hey, you on the shore, guess what, we caught no fish!” No, Jesus exposes his weakness. But he does this to redirect his gaze on Jesus, not on his own dignity.

 

Third, Jesus is known by his speech acts. Then, Jesus surprises them completely. He gives them more of his word. He commands another cast. And they obey.

“Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”

See, Jesus reveals himself “…in this way.” God commands, “Cast the net” and all of reality must obey. He says, “Let there be light” and there is light. He says, “There you will find fish,” and, there fish are found. Do you see what this means for us? Whatever God says is true. This is how we know it is him. His word reveals reality. His word even creates reality. Therefore, God is infinitely trustworthy. Jesus does not discover reality. Jesus creates reality.

And yet, all of this is to reveal who Jesus is personally to Peter and to John. Through the moment on the lake, through the voice on the shore, through the friendship of John, Peter finds out who it is that he is speaking with God. And his reaction is beautiful.

Before we move on to that reaction, I think it’s important to point out that Jesus is doing many things at once. One of the things that Jesus is doing is putting an end to Peter’s fishing career by allowing him to walk off the Lake with a giant victory in Christ. The other thing that Jesus is doing is giving him a window into what Peter’s ministry will be like. Without Jesus, nothing. With Jesus, a massive catch. This is how Jesus works in ministry, not only in sea-side fishing.

Expect Jesus to reveal himself to you personally. Expect him to convict you of personal sins, unique to you. Expect him to know your past, to be aware of all of your situations, to minister to you personally through the Spirit of God.

Meet up with someone 1-on-1, share you story, allow people into your life, get to know other people, ask questions, open up to others.

That leads us to our next point. Jesus reveals himself personally, and now hospitably. 

 

Third, Jesus reveals himself hospitably. That is to say, Jesus makes room for Peter’s total personality. Jesus welcomes Peter’s impulsive impetuousness with the biggest hug that you have ever seen. Far from stewing in his betrayal, bearing grudges, Jesus shows us that forgiveness looks like hospitality.

 

When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. 8 The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off. 9 When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread.

 

I love this. John is calculating and contemplative: “My research says, It’s the Lord!” Peter throws himself toward Jesus, practically naked. Peter and John have a nearly competitive relationship, John writes after Jesus’ resurrection, “So Peter went out with the other disciples, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first” (John 20:3-4). Boom. John’s faster than Peter.

But, when it comes to swimming, Peter has no match. His strength and stride get him a hundred yards in a brilliant few seconds. He’s Michael Phelps in this moment. However, when Peter gets to the land, he sees something that sends chills down his spine. As the other disciples are dragging in the catch, Peter sees the charcoal fire. John is very careful to mention this fire because when Peter denies Jesus, “…the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself” (John 18:18).

Through this setting, Jesus is bringing Peter all the way back to his initial call to ministry, from fishing for fish to fishing for me, and through the remembrance of his betrayal and denial. This is how Jesus exhibits hospitality. Hospitality is not the ignoring of the past, it’s creating a space where someone’s real story can be shared, where a person’s lived experience can be recognized and validated. Jesus is saying with this setting: Last time there was a charcoal fire, you ran away from me. This time, you are running toward me. That’s beautiful to me, Peter.

We often think that hospitality is the place for which we must clean ourselves up. In Jesus’ views, hospitality is setting the table for the whole person, strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures, sins and saintliness. Peter has learned from Jesus to dare to enter his presence as he really is, not as he should be.

The other thing we need to notice is that Peter abandons responsibility when he sees Jesus. Some of us are so set on perfectly managing our lives that we can’t imagine leaving such great responsibility to other people. We feel guilty that other people have to haul in the catch. But, oh my goodness, Church, let’s stop being so responsible that we neglect the hospitality of Almighty God in our lives. Every single one of the disciples understood that Peter needed to swim to Jesus. Every one knew these two had unresolved business to take care of.

So, we can apply this by saying:

Expect Jesus to be warm and hospitable. Expect that when you come to Jesus, that he will make space for your total personality, all of your failures, shortcomings and faults. Expect him to know you completely.

Release other people of the burden of knowing you completely.

Forgive people of the disappointment that you have not been fully known.

Open up others, rather than expecting them to open up to you.

Still, who is this Jesus? That leads us to our next point.

Fourth, Jesus reveals himself intuitively. For the disciples, it all adds up. The lake, the night, the fish, what he said, what happened, Simon’s reaction, John’s assessment. This is Jesus. This is Jesus’ work. This is Jesus’ word. So we read,

10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish.

The beautiful thing about this part of the passage is that Jesus involves us in his self-disclosure. He invites the disciples to bring some of the fish that they “caught”. What a joke! Jesus put the fish in the net. And yet, Peter goes aboard and hauls what’s estimated over 300 pounds of net, fish, and wetness ashore. We find out that he was probably a slow runner because he was yacked. Nice try, John! He didn’t ask John to go grab the fish. He was probably too busy trying to give Jesus a hug and contemplate how the Logos could be both God and Man and where love really came from anyway. He was busily distracted with just how many fish were in that net. Peter’s like, “The man said bring fish; I bring fish now! Study fish numbers later.”

The point of this section is found in verse 12: “They knew it was the Lord.” Jesus revealed himself to them “in this way”, it was intuitive, obvious. What kind of God would fill their lives like this? What kind of God would stoop to the human level, die on a cross, and even after his resurrection delight to serve his disciples breakfast? Only Jesus does this.

Illustration: if someone from your family calls you, you don’t need to ask who it is. When my son speaks, I know it’s Sam. When my wife calls, I know it’s Lauren. In the same way, when God shows up like this, you don’t need to ask verifying questions.

 

For us, this needs to absolutely change what our perception of what ministry is about. Ministry or service in God’s church is all about magnifying the infinite, personal, triune God, not about getting stuff done. It’s about knowing God personally, intuitively. Knowing him by heart.

Self-effort gets you empty nets, long nights, and personal, emotional, and spiritual exhaustion. It’s vanity. Psalm 127 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep” (Psalm 127: 1-2). God reveals himself in Jesus this way because we are constantly convincing ourselves that that we can manufacture grace. We believe that God needs us.

The Gospel says,

13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish.

While the Christian life entails tremendous personal effort, all of it is a gift of God’s sheer grace. Ministry is not a service position, it’s a gift basket. Christians get to be ministers of the Gospel, we don’t have to be ministers of the Gospel. All of our ‘shoulds’ and ‘ought to’ follow the heartbeat of being a new person in Christ, with a new heart, new mind, and new desires.

Expect that Jesus with be recognizable to you. Rather than constructing Jesus in your own image, subvert your understanding of Jesus to the Scriptures.

Are you tired, Christian? Come and have breakfast with Jesus.

This leads us to our last point:

Fifth and finally, Jesus reveals himself repeatedly. This point most certainly points to the historical reliability of Jesus’ resurrection. John doesn’t expect his readers to believe on blind faith. He expects them to want more evidence, as much evidence as he can muster. However, the principle is not only that Jesus revealed himself this way then, but that he continues to reveal himself to believers now. We read,

14 This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

While we should not expect Jesus to stand on the shoreline of our fishing trips, we should expect to see Jesus through the lens of his Word and in the beauty of his world. We should be leaning forward, expecting his return and ready to be surprised by his return at any moment.

Expect to spend your whole lifetime absorbed in the business of knowing God and being known by God, for this is eternal life.

John 17:3 This is Eternal life, that they know God.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-5 reminds us:

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.

We are invited as believers to stand in the light, leaning forward to that day where we will see him face to face.

As we close, I want to apply this through five short exhortations:

 

Expect Jesus to reveal himself to you through his word. Meet him at the dawn of every morning ready and eager to hear from Jesus.

Read your Bible, join a Bible study, Join a Life Group.

Expect Jesus to reveal himself to you personally. Expect him to convict you of personal sins, unique to you. Expect him to know your past, to be aware of all of your situations, to minister to you personally through the Spirit of God.

Meet up with someone 1-on-1, share you story, allow people into your life, get to know other people, ask questions, open up to others.

Expect Jesus to be warm and hospitable. Expect that when you come to Jesus, that he will make space for your total personality, all of your failures, shortcomings and faults. Expect him to know you completely.

Release other people of the burden of knowing you completely.

Forgive people of the disappointment that you have not been fully known.

Open up others, rather than expecting them to open up to you.

Expect that Jesus with be recognizable to you. Rather than constructing Jesus in your own image, subvert your understanding of Jesus to the Scriptures.

Expect to spend your whole lifetime absorbed in the business of knowing God and being known by God, for this is eternal life.

John 17:3 This is Eternal life, that they know God.

Slideshow for this message is available

Introduction

John 20-21

Well we are in John chapter 20 where we come to the purpose statement of the book of John which we have referenced several dozen times in our preaching. The whole book of John was written for this reason.

Now in order to accomplish this purpose, John tells us that he has been incredibly selective in his writing. To give you an indicator of just how selective he has been, if you notice the time markers in the book of John, there are only 21 or maybe 22 days of the life of Jesus which have been recorded.

That’s not a biography. The gospels are not biographies. He’s chosen specific miracles, specific events so that in reading those events, they might persuade you to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God.

Now here’s what’s interesting. The last event chosen, the climatic one, the one he chooses to really drive home the point that Jesus is the Christ, is this story about Thomas who struggles with doubt. Jesus looks at Thomas and says, “Do not disbelieve but believe.”

Now I want to really press into this concept of doubt vs belief because not only does the book of John culminate with the call to believe, but the entire Christian faith culminates in it. The way you become a Christian is by believing! You are to believe the claim that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God. If you believe that, then you believe all the claims that go along with that and in believing that you are saved.

Maybe you are walking in here today with doubt. You are not so sure. Maybe you feel like Thomas. You need more evidence. You won’t believe unless certain conditions are met.

Maybe you need to see a miracle.

Maybe you don’t understand the way science and the Bible go together.

Maybe you don’t understand how God and evil go together.

You have some barrier in your mind that creates doubt. That’s okay. Let’s talk about that for a moment.

What is doubt? Doubt can be defined as a mental or emotional state in which the mind remains suspended between two contradictory propositions. In Thomas case and maybe in in your case there are two claims which logically can’t both be true.

The Bible’s claim: Jesus rose from the dead.

The World’s claim: Jesus is still in the grave.

Which is it? The Christian claim is that Jesus rose from the dead. But experience tells you that dead people stay dead. Maybe for you that creates doubt.

Doubt is not bad. To question the reality that someone rose from the dead is an intelligent doubt. We aren’t supposed to believe everything we hear.

You’ve got to give me good reasons why I am supposed to believe something that seems very unbelievable.

If I’m going to move from doubt to belief, or even from the position of belief to greater belief, you have to give me the freedom to continue asking questions until I find some reliable grounds to satisfy my reason.

Without healthy doubt there can be no healthy faith.

So given this understanding of belief, we might think that what Thomas is lacking is good reasons. We might think that what he is lacking is evidence?

But if we look carefully at the text, that is not the problem. Jesus kindly - but most definitely - rebukes Thomas in this passage. If it was reasonable for Thomas to ask for evidence, then it would be unreasonable for Jesus to rebuke. But Jesus rebuked. You should have believed without the evidence. And what that tells us is that what was preventing Thomas from believing the reports of the disciples was not lack of evidence. He claimed what he needed was evidence. But that’s not what he needed.

And that’s actually the case for millions and millions of people today. Millions of people think that what they need in order to become a follower of Jesus is more evidence. But just like Thomas, that’s not what they need. Let’s find out what Thomas needed, and maybe in so doing, we will find out what you need to become a follower of Jesus Christ or what you need to strengthen a weak faith in Jesus Christ.

Now the other disciples had seen the risen Lord and they were just ecstatic. They were out of their minds with excitement.

But their testimony was unconvincing in his ears. Thomas says to them, “Okay, so apparently you were all in a locked room and you all saw something that ‘resembled’ Jesus. Yeah, okay, all your testimonies agree. I’m sure you all saw something, but it wasn’t Jesus. That sounds more like a ghost story than like a Jesus sighting.”

And so Thomas obstinately demands evidence. What I need is more evidence. I won’t believe until…. and then he lays down his conditions.

Now what caused Thomas to doubt and demand this evidence? Some have conjectured that it was something in his disposition.

Thomas shows up in two other places in the gospels and in both places he seems to suffers from an Eore complex, a glass half empty complex. He seems to bear the burden of a pessimist.Maybe he doubts because of disposition.

But maybe he doubts because of experience. In some translations, Thomas has the nickname dydimous. That’s just an untranslated Greek word. You can hear in it our English word diddo from. The ESV translation just translate the word dydimous which means twin. Thomas had a twin brother and I’m guessing an identical twin so perhaps Thomas had a unique perspective on mistaken identity. His entire life, he’d been mistaken for his brother. No I’m not Mark. Mark has the mole. I don’t have the mole. I’m Thomas. He’s been on the receiving end of mistaken identity his whole life. He knows just how possible this is.

So Thomas, pulling from his pessimism, pulling from his experience with mistaken identity says, “I’m sure this guy reminded you of Jesus but there’s no way it could be Jesus. I saw him die. I saw his stiffening, bloated body come off that tree. There’s no way I’ll believe it.”

But seeing the insistence in the other disciples he says, “Okay, actually, there’s one way. There’s one identification marker that nobody could fake and that’s the wounds. Unless I place my finger in the holes, I won’t believe.”

Thomas is the skeptic. Thomas is the doubter. We call him doubting Thomas. Now I always feel so bad for the guy. He gets this label slapped on him for the rest of history. You know if Thomas had a NT you know what verse I think would be highlighted, underlined and bolded in his Bible? Mark 16. Mark 16 is the parallel account of Jesus’ first appearance to the disciples when Thomas was at away.

Mark 16

Thomas is like, why did I get the label? Every single one of us doubted and because I happen to not be in the room, because I volunteered to go to Costco and buy groceries, I get the label, “Doubting Thomas.”

Well, Thomas, it’s a good point. We ought to have doubting Peter, doubting John, doubting Simon, doubting Andrew. They all did the same exact thing. They are all equally guilty.

Now let’s just push on this character assessment. What’s wrong with a guy that wants a little proof? It’s not like its exactly common for crucified people who have been embalmed in 70 pounds of spices and wrapped in linen clothes placed into sealed, guarded tombs to just get up and walk away. That’s not exactly usual. Not only is it unusual, but that’s kind of an important detail to nail down. It pretty much has a major impact on how these disciples are going to live out the rest of his life. What’s wrong with a guy that wants a little proof?

Now you can create a ton of clarity to these concepts if you add some adjectives. So instead of just talking about belief and doubt, let’s talk in terms of healthy belief, unhealthy belief, healthy doubt and unhealthy doubt. And in order to see this clearly, let’s look at this little diagram.

So we will start in the upper left.

A healthy belief is a belief that you hold for good reason. So for example, “I believe summer is coming.” You have scientific backing for that claim. You have experience to back the claim. You have history to back the claim. You are believing the right thing.

An unhealthy belief is a belief that you hold for no good reason. This is the person who believes everything. They are gullible. So for example, “I believe in Santa Claus.” If you are an adult and you still believe that, you might have reasons, but I hate to break it to you, but you have no good ones.

A healthy doubt is a doubt that is felt for good reasons. So it’s good of you to doubt the reality of Santa Claus. You disbelieve the right things.

An unhealthy doubt would be to question the reality of summer. You have no good reason to doubt that summer is coming. This is the person who disbelieves everything.

Now where does Thomas fit? And for that matter, where do all the disciples fit? They are living in unhealthy doubt. Why?

Because even though the claim is gigantic, “Jesus rose from the dead!” The reasons to believe that claim are also gigantic. Let me give you three.

First, they had quality eye-witnessess. Let me give you an example of what I mean by this.

If you’ve read the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe there’s the scene where Lucy who is characteristically sweet has just returned from Narnia with Edmund who is known for being devious. When they rejoin the others Edmund claims that their journey was just a story Lucy made up. Susan and Peter don’t really understand why Lucy is telling stories about this mysterious place called Narnia, and they realize the issue is beyond them to fix. They turn to the Professor for some advice.

Susan’s and Peter’s can’t understand why Lucy has been telling lies about Narnia. The Professor asks how it is they know that Lucy’s story isn’t true. So he makes them think.

Lucy could be a liar. The Professor asks if Lucy or Edmund is generally the more truthful one. Both Peter and Susan agree the answer would typically be Lucy.

Something could be wrong with Lucy (like madness). The Professor, however, quickly dismisses this as “one has only to look at her and talk to her to see that she is not mad.”

Lucy is telling the truth- Susan and Peter are resistant to the idea that Lucy might be telling the truth because, in their minds, people don’t just find other countries lying in wardrobes. But the Professor points out that the details of Lucy’s story don’t seem to be the sort she could just make up and there is a great deal even he doesn’t know about the house. Thus, “for the moment then and unless any further evidence turns up, we must assume that she is telling the truth.”

That’s exactly what’s happening here. Mary Magdalene, Salome and Mary the mother of James had all seen Jesus. And presumably they were not in the habit of lying, they were not mad, and much like the mysterious house, ‘there was a great deal they didn’t yet know about Jesus.’

So yes, the claim is gigantic, “Jesus rose from the dead!” but the reasons to believe that claim are also gigantic. 1. They had quality eye-witnessess. 2. They had seen extensive proof that Jesus was God.

Because they had lived with the Lord, I want you to picture in your mind’s eye what they had seen.

Miracles of Jesus.

1.Water into wine at the wedding in Cana

2.Healing of the official’s son at Capernaum in Galilee 3.Jesus drives out an evil spirit from a man in Capernaum 4.Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law sick with fever 5.Jesus heals many sick and oppressed at evening 6.First miraculous catch of fish on Sea of Galilee 7.Jesus cleanses a man with leprosy 8.Jesus heals a centurion’s paralyzed servant in Capernaum 9.Jesus heals a paralytic who was let down from the roof 10. Jesus heals a man’s withered hand on the Sabbath 11. Jesus raises a widow’s son from the dead in Nain 12. Jesus calms a storm on the sea 13. Jesus casts demons into a herd of pigs 14. Jesus heals a woman in the crowd with an issue of blood 15. Jesus raises Jairus’ daughter back to life 16. Jesus heals two blind men 17. Jesus heals a man who was unable to speak 18. Jesus heals an invalid at Bethesda 19. Jesus feeds 5,000 plus women and children 20. Jesus walks on water 21. Jesus heals many sick in Gennesaret as they touch his garment 22. Jesus heals a gentile woman’s demon-possessed daughter 23. Jesus heals a deaf and dumb man 24. Jesus feeds 4,000 plus women and children 25. Jesus heals a blind man at Bethsaida

26. Jesus heals a man born blind by spitting in his eyes 27. Jesus heals a boy with an unclean spirit 28. Miraculous temple tax in a fish’s mouth 29. Jesus heals a blind, mute demoniac

30. Jesus heals a woman who had been crippled for 18 years 31. Jesus heals a man with dropsy on the sabbath 32. Jesus cleanses ten lepers on the way to Jerusalem 33. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead in Bethany

34. Jesus restores sight to Bartimaeus in Jericho 35. Jesus withers the fig tree on the road from Bethany 36. Jesus heals a servant’s severed ear while he is being arrested

So yes, the claim is gigantic, “Jesus rose from the dead!” but the reasons to believe that claim are also gigantic. 1. They had quality eye-witnessess. 2. They had seen extensive proof that Jesus was God. 3. They had clear predictions that this very event would transpire.

On several different occasions that he would die and be raised again.

In Jn 2 he told his opponents, destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

In Mt 12 he said, just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

You might say, well those are kind of cryptic references. Well, do you think this is cryptic?

Luke 18:31-33, And taking the twelve, he said to them, See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.

Or how about a couple chapters later.

Luke 24:7, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.

That is not mysterious. I’m just saying. In fact, it was such common knowledge that even his enemies knew the plain interpretation of his words. After Jesus had died and was laid in the tomb we read,

Matthew 27

So let me ask you, “Did Thomas have good reason to doubt?” No.

So if he didn’t have good reason to doubt, then why did he doubt? Maybe you are here today with good reason to doubt. You haven’t done the research. You have good questions. Continue seeking. But maybe you are here today and you are like Thomas and you don’t realize that the reasons you are holding onto are not good reasons. You say you have good reasons to doubt, you say that you are needing certain specific pieces of evidence, but maybe it’s not an intellectual obstacle.

Let me introduce one more concept into our chart. Thomas used to be in this box.

Maybe that describes you. You grew up in church. You used to go to AWANA. You used to read your Bible and believe everything it said. You used to be sold out for the Lord. But then something happened. In Thomas’ case, it was shattered expectations and misunderstanding of God’s plan. He thought Jesus was going to bless him and instead he left him. Maybe that’s how you feel?

And Thomas couldn’t deal with it. So tragedy caused him to doubt. Tragedy shook him off his feet. When you move from belief to unbelief or from unbelief to belief, you cross over this line and we are going to call this line of doubt, the line of implications.

Think about it. For Thomas, he had to wrestle with the claim that Jesus was God. And the longer he lived, the more he believed that claim. With every miracle, his faith grew. But then Jesus died. And his world fell apart.

Any time you cross over that line. Whether from belief to unbelief or from unbelief to belief, you don’t do it without some pretty serious implications.

Crossing that line shatters a person. Because everything you’ve built your life upon falls crumbles like sand. It’s extremely unsettling. It’s extremely crushing. And in order to successfully cross the line, you have to have the emotional courage to deal with it. And many people don’t have the courage. They would rather continue living a lie then admit that their entire life has been spent building upon a foundation of sand in which their head is buried.

You see for Thomas, believing that Jesus had risen from the dead, in the end, was an emotional problem.

Thomas already crossed that line once. He was shattered. Emotionally he was destroyed and he was picking up the pieces. Everything he built his life upon was in ruins. He probably felt hurt, betrayed, wounded and what was once glowing love for Jesus was replaced with deep suspicion. He had deconstructed. He wasn’t about to go back there again.

Maybe that describes you. Something hurt you. You felt let down by a church leader, or God allowed something to happen in your life that you felt should never have happened. And that thing, whatever it was, shattered you.

And now your like Thomas. Your faith has been deconstructed and you feel fragmented and fractured. You feel duped. You felt like a kid who discovered Santa wasn’t real. And your whole world got turned upside down. And when you crossed over that line of implications you were wrecked.

And now you’ve been living on the other side of that line for a while now. And you are looking back over that line to where you used to be and you hear good arguments for the resurrection, you know that the argument of evolution doesn’t work, but you can’t emotionally bear the weight of crossing that line again. It’s too dangerous. You’ve got to protect your soul. You’ve got to make sure that soul injury doesn’t get repeated. Listen friend, Thomas can relate.

God has sympathy for how you feel. In Jude 1:20 we have instruction given to us on how to treat people who doubt.

Jude

Have mercy. It’s understandable why you feel this way. It’s a state that should evoke sympathy. We see this kind of mercy in Jesus as he approached Thomas.

Jesus comes under the same circumstances (closed doors) and with the same greeting of peace as before (20:19, 26).

This is definitely a mild, gentle, loving correction. He doesn’t say Thomas’ condition is acceptable. He doesn’t say, “Well, Thomas, I know you’re doubting, but that’s understandable, because I haven’t shown you the evidence.” He says, “Stop doubting” which means Thomas should have believed. He was not listening to the women who had seen him and he was not listening to the disciples. But most of all, he was not listening to Jesus himself who had demonstrated his power and predicted this moment.

Thomas wouldn’t believe. He says, “I won’t believe until I actually see him.” Well Jesus shows up, and he offers him the evidence, but you know what, the text is very careful to point out, he never takes up Jesus’ offer. He never actually gets up and puts his hands and fingers in the holes. You want to know why? Because that was never the issue. Evidence was never the issue.

The issue was he was too afraid. The issue was it was too good to be true and he didn’t want to get his hopes up only to be dashed to pieces. Maybe he felt abandoned by Jesus and there was fear of another abandonment.

And while that is sympathy inducing, it’s also a barrier to his joy. Here was an offer of absolute happiness and there was a defiance of that happiness. Can I ask, maybe that’s what’s preventing you from coming to Jesus? Well, notice what fixes the problem for Thomas. It’s simply seeing him. It’s simply being with him. It’s simply beholding him.

Thomas saw something great and it brought him back to Jesus. You need the same thing Thomas needed. You don’t need to see Jesus in the flesh. What you need is to see Jesus in the text, in his Words. You just need to read the book of John again. You need to read about who he claimed to be. Look at how he responded.

And you know what will happen. If you drop those fears of abandonment, and you say, what if that tragedy that pushed me away from God was actually the way God would help me see him for not who I wanted him to be but who he actually is?

Spend time in the Bible, friend. See Jesus and will discover, like millions who have gone before you, that in so doing, you will fall on your face and declare, “May Lord and my God.”

If you read the 8 miracles of Jesus in almost every instance, those who see the miracles in real life don’t believe. What kind of a miracle is that? Why would John choose these miracles? They didn’t have the right effect on those who watched them. Why would they have a greater effect on those who read them?

Remember the religious leaders in John 11. They watched Lazarus be raised from the dead. I mean that’s a legit miracle. But here was the response. So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation... so from that day on they made plans to put him to death.

And after this they did. They killed the Son of God. Did miracles and signs and wonders cause them to believe? No.

Why didn’t they believe? Fear! The Pharisees were scared of giving up their precious - their place and their position. And that fear blinded them. They couldn’t see him.

And maybe that’s what’s preventing you coming to Jesus. It’s scary crossing that line of implication. It takes tremendous courage. It takes all kinds of bravery and fearlessness. But what if it’s true? Would you really want to fend of eternal joy your entire life for fear of being disappointed?

John is pointing us to something. We all need evidence. We don’t need less than that but we need more than that. Evidence alone will never save a person. God uses evidence but what you really need is Jesus himself. You need to behold him. You need to consider his claims. You need to interact with his person. It’s the person of Jesus that actually changes. It’s the person. In the end it’s not the evidence.

And you need to drop that fear that binds you.

But all who see, all who drop their fear, all who open their eyes and gaze, ALL, and I do mean ALL, are saved. ALL are saved who open their eyes and see Jesus. He is irresistible!

All fall on their face and say, “My Lord and My God!”