Him We Proclaim

John 12:36b-50: Summary:For John's contemporaries, Jewish or otherwise, it would've been expected that the Jewish Messiah would've been believed upon by the Jewish people. That most did not was an obstacle needing clearance. Perhaps Jesus was not all He was rumored to be. Or, as John means to persuade us, the bear mention of their unbelief actually solidifies the historicity of the Gospel, and (more to the issue) their unbelief was expected. Their rejection of Christ was foretold by God in Scripture. Thus, their unbelief is really an apologetic for why one should believe in Jesus. He is the holy, divine King Who suffered and died for us and, as such, His ministry fulfilled the tenor of ministry for all God's servants, like Isaiah. But again, that then becomes a call to truly believe in Jesus---as the saving Word of God to sinful people. In a text that emphasizes the sovereignty of God even in unbelief, it boldly calls upon people to responsibly place their faith in Jesus for eternal life, and to be careful that they not reject the Word intended to save them, lest it stand to judge them. It is a fitting Word for the culmination and close of Jesus' public ministry.

Sermon Outline:

Unbelief as a reason to believe truly in Jesus. (12:36b-43)

Unbelief establishing Gospel historicity.

Unbelief fulfilling biblical prophecy.

Unbelief underscoring Christ's glory.

Jesus crying out to all to believe truly in Jesus. (12:44-50)

John 12:12-36a: Summary:Sometimes, we want life to slow down. And sometimes, we need life to slow down. In the case of Jesus' life, John thinks it vital for the whole world that we slow it down. The last week of His life is the most important week for all people in the history of creation, and John takes great measures to record the most important things about it. He's begun to frame the death of Jesus, and he continues that effort in these verses. In them, he gives the cross its divine meaning, with an emphasis on Jesus as the triumphant King, His global harvest, the achievement of God's saving will, and the necessity, in the end, of faith in Jesus. So begins the Passion week.

Sermon Outline:

The cross and the triumphant King. (12:12-19)

The cross and the global harvest. (12:20-26)

The cross and the Father's glory. (12:27-33)

The cross and the great question. (12:34-36a)

John 11:45-12:10: Summary:How has the resurrection power of Jesus impacted us? How should it? Are those at all at odds? Or is there a growing agreement and similarity between the things we profess and the lives we live? In these verses, John frames for us the death of Life (Christ), how His resurrection power impacted Him and those who saw no reason to believe in Him. In the process, God's given us much to consider about Christ's death and what it centrally means---about His work, His cross, His Person. John then moves to help us consider a right response to it all, how we should take pure delight in the Life that would go on to die for us. The model of delight (and devotion) is given in Mary. Her devotion is challenged by a 'disciple.' In taking her side, Jesus makes a profound and unique statement about Himself, as well as what should then be, as seen in Lazarus, at the center of our lives. No cost is too great for spreading the worth of Christ. Do we believe this?

Sermon Outline:

Framing the death of Life. (11:45-57)

Jesus died because He did raise the dead.

Jesus died because unbelief demanded it.

Jesus died because God yet ordained it.

Delighting in the Life that would die. (12:1-11)

An example: Mary.

A challenge: Judas.

A cost: Lazarus.

Matthew 22:37-39: Summary:A message from God's Word by an international missionary on domestic missions.

Habakkuk:

John 11:28-46: Summary:In continuation of His movement toward raising the deceased Lazarus, Jesus encounters more grief beneath the hope of belief in Him and basic biblical reality---and it causes Him to respond with a sinless mixture of both anger and sorrow. Called to Him, Mary quickly goes, and her consolers with her, to Jesus, near the tomb of Lazarus. With the intensest affection, Jesus begins a series of commands, first, to some who would remove the stone, then, by way of reminder, to Martha's disbelief, that she believe; next, having made His continual communion with the Father visible to all, having drawn-in the reality of God's attendance, presence, and affirmation, He commands the dead man himself! And Lazarus is raised! Finally, as he then lived again, Jesus commands attendants to exchange his grave clothes for apparel befitting life. By His Word, mixing in the actions of people, Jesus has raised the dead! He is the Resurrection and the Life! And His earlier question to Martha is intended to be raised again: do we believe this? Some did. And some, nonetheless admitting that this deed had been done by Jesus, did not. The issue is put to the world, bearing eternal consequences.

Sermon Outline:

Jesus meeting with undue despair: grief and disbelief. (11:28-37)

Jesus moving for His due praise: Lazarus raised to life! (11:38-44)

Jesus making unbelief unbelievable: Do you believe this? (11:45-46)

John 11:1-27: Summary:Situated at the center of the Gospel and, thus, central to true faith in Christ, John gives an account of Jesus' claim to be the Resurrection and the Life. We're told of an ill man named Lazarus, brother to Martha and Mary. They are a model family of love and faith to Jesus. And Jesus loves them; but what if His love to us and His actions toward us don't seem to match? Are hard things an indictment of God's love for us? Or are they part of Him loving us divinely? The most loving thing God can do for sinners is reveal Himself. This text reminds us that He does that supremely in His Son, Jesus Christ. Though the path is riddled with opposition, Jesus, driven by His love for us, will risk all danger to glorify God and enhance our faith in Him. To that end, He goes to Bethany, instructing His disciples along the way. He's greeted by Martha, who gives an incredible expression of her great faith in Him---which Jesus intends to expand still more. He is the Resurrection and the Life. Lazarus has died and been buried, but Jesus will raise him up. Before He does this, He asks Martha, 'Do you believe this?' As a true believer, her faith expands to do so. It will be challenged in application, but her heart really does trust Jesus for Who He is. How would we be changed, our 'walk' altered, in truly believing Jesus to be the Resurrection and the Life? Do 'we' believe 'this'?

Sermon Outline:

True faith and the purposing love of Jesus. (11:1-6)

True faith and the steadying hand of Jesus. (11:7-16)

True faith and the consoling word of Jesus. (11:17-27)

The Song of Songs 8:8-14: Summary:'I now pronounce you husband and wife.' These final verses of The Song readdress its two primary themes: purity until matrimony. It's a fitting conclusion. The daughters, it would seem, seek (or better, appropriate) advice on how to help a young girl towards sexual purity until she's spoken-for by a man. The bride exalts such purity, having set an example for it, before she goes on to address the worth of it. The Song ends, as it should, with an exchange between this model couple, between husband and wife. He sees her in an Edenic habitat, dispensing wisdom to the daughters. Her voice is irresistible to him. He wants to hear it himself. He wants to be in her presence. She invites him to more than he's even asked: to the marriage bed. 'Make haste, my beloved.' Such love really is worth the wait that purity demands. Notably, The Song ends with a wait. He longs for her. She calls to him. But there is no embrace. There's only the expectancy, based on all that's preceded it, that there will be an embrace, a consummation of their love. So as at the beginning, also in the end: love, marriage, sex, etc. is eschatological. It points us to the Day when the everlasting marriage, the one for which we now wait, will be finally consummated. Are we letting Christ's love for us compel our final longing for Him? Come, Lord Jesus!

Sermon Outline:

Another push for the wisdom of purity. (8:8-12)

The others. (8:8-9)

The bride. (8:10-12)

Another call to the world of consummation. (8:13-14)

Husband. (8:13)

And wife. (8:14)

The Song of Songs 7:11-8:7: Summary:Having made his invitation to intimacy, the bride now takes the initiative. She wants to take him on a walk to see if it's the season for love---and certain 'fertility fruits.' Once more, sex is more than a biological necessity. Ideally, it's the fruit of love, passing through pleasure to procreation. She promises to give him her love for it's own sake, but also with an eye to another miracle of their union: children. Doing as her mother taught her, she brings her husband home, and offers the juice of her pomegranate. It's a reign he gladly takes into his hands. For the third time, the bride adjures the virgins to patience in the exercise of passions. It's a morality (matrimony) issue. It's a maturity issue. And perhaps, it's also---becoming a mommy issue? Again ideally, sex has a righteous source (marital love) and a miraculous consequence (babies). The exercise isn't to be taken lightly, impatiently, or out of order. Thus, she returns again, in the most powerful part of The Song, to the matter of marital, monogamous, miraculous love. It's redemptive nature points us again to the love of God in Christ, a love without rival, beyond comparison.

Sermon Outline:

The bride's invitation to the gifts of their love. (7:11-8:4)

The bride's tribute to the gift of that love. (8:5-7)

The Song of Songs 6:4-7:10: Summary:How should spouses respond when once they've experienced some discord? We saw the bride's response in 5:6-6:3. What about the bridegroom? Again, we have two poems connected by an intermediate interlude. The first (6:4-10) shows us his reassuring heart of forgiveness. The interlude (6:11-13) gets the idea that she's more than a mere beauty. Many desire her presence, but her time belongs chiefly to him. It also serves to pose the question that the second poem answers. What's so special about her? The answer (7:1-9) returns us to the marriage bed that had been temporarily put aside (5:2-6). His description, again, offers more (but not less) than his delight in and desire to engage her body sexually. She is truly a character of great nobility and royalty in his heart. She's his radiant and fruitful 'queen.' This rendition of their marital consummation is capped off by her equally delighted acquiescence (7:10). In this final verse, she maintains the order she'd reversed in 6:3 from 2:16, but with the further twist that 'his desire is for me.' The word 'desire' used here is the only usage in the OT since it's only other two uses . . . in Genesis 3:16 and 4:7. Significant? Probably. Healthy marriages, modeling grace and intimacy, are a testimony to the recreative work of Jesus 'far as the curse is found.'

Sermon Outline:

Reassurance: she's still the one. (6:4-10)

Interlude: her desire and desirability. (6:11-13)

Resumption: seeing and sa(y)voring---again. (7:1-10)