Stonebrook Church, Ames, Iowa, Sermons

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Please turn in your Bibles with me to John chapter 19. In preparing for this message, it occurred to me how strange it felt to be preparing a “Good Friday Sermon” in mid-November. But, we have devoted ourselves to the preaching of the scripture, over and above the church seasons. A fact which I love. And so today we are going to reflect on the crucifixion of Jesus.

The most horrific act ever committed by humanity:

The false accusation of the only truly righteous human.

The rejection of the long-awaited messiah by the people to whom he was promised

The betrayal of their rightful and true king, in favor of a lesser, merely human ruler

The murder of the most glorious, most worthy, most innocent, most loving person ever to have lived.

This was humanity’s darkest hour. It was also the means of our salvation.

But we are not merely reflecting on the crucifixion, we are specifically studying the gospel account of the apostle John, and he had a specific purpose in writing this gospel account as he did.

John brings out some unique details not found in other gospel accounts, and in so doing sends a strong message to the early church, who are under oppression from the Roman Empire and under pressure from the jewish synagogue to abandon their faith and return to what is now a dead religion, (the true, living religion, having passed into worship of Jesus the Christ, the fulfillment of the Jewish religion.)

In the face of familial pressure from fellow Jews, and political and societal pressure from the empire, John sends a clear message. Do not fear, and do not look back.

The jewish leaders had rejected Jesus. Don’t go back to them.

The Roman Empire are mere vassals of the heavenly king, and would have no power at all if it had not been given by God. Do not fear them. We belong to a higher kingdom.

Jesus proved that he was the long-awaited Jewish Messiah, believe! See the works he did, hear the words he said!

The situation you find yourself in today is not an accident. The persecution and pressure you face, in fact, was predicted by Jesus, planned by God who is in complete control of and care for your situation.

Let’s read John’s account of the crucifixion and then we reflect on some of its uniqueness and significance.

READ: John 19:16–42 

TO FULFILL THE SCRIPTURE

All four gospel accounts record most of these same events, some go into even greater detail, but only John explicitly points out that these events happened “to fulfill the scripture.” These statements by John that these events happened “to fulfill the scripture” show us three things:

God’s sovereign plan and absolute control of the situation

Jesus’s total faithfulness and obedience to God’s plan

Jesus’s worthiness as a substitute sacrifice on our behalf

God’s Control over His Plan

The soldiers divided the garments, just as God said they would in Psalm 22:18. They acted on their own, but they did so “because God said they would.” – “The scriptures said… …so this is what they did…”

No broken bones (Exodus, the passover lamb, and Psalm 34:20, God’s protection of the righteous) – As foretold by God. He kept his watch over his son, his sacrificial lamb, so that all would be according to his plan.

The soldiers pierced him (Zechariah 12:10)

All this answers the question in chapter 12:34: “…what do you mean the son of man must be lifted up?” – They didn’t have the full picture of who the Messiah was.

The trilingual declaration of Pilate “Jesus of Nazareth, Kind of the Jews”, a declaration to all the nations!, made him an unwitting, yet free-acting prophet, like Caiaphas the high priest in 11:49-52 when he said that it would be better for one man to die for the many.

Je…

No greater contrast could be found than in the story of Jesus’ death. He was treated like a horrific criminal, kept in custody instead of a terrorist, and declared to be worthy of death, yet he stood before his own people and the Roman government declaring himself to be a king from another world. Just who is Jesus?

https://www.stonebrook.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/181104_sermon.mp3

Gospel of John: Life in Jesus’ Name

John 18:28-19:16 Jesus, King of kings

Two weeks after my second daughter, Jenna, was born, I was called for Jury Duty. I was selected for the jury in a case being tried in Federal Court in Des Moines. It was an arson case where a man was accused of setting his Health and Fitness business on fire. And the stakes were raised significantly, because in putting out the fire, two firefighters died. The trial lasted three weeks. It was a fascinating case. In the end, we the jury unanimously agreed the man (who was my age) was guilty of arson. And he was later sentenced to 27 years in prison.

In our world, we strive for justice. Because we are made in the image of God, we love justice. And we despise injustice. Injustice makes us angry. Even furious.

We are nearing the end of a sermon series going through the Gospel of John. The fourth book of the New Testament. In this Gospel is a trial. It’s not a trial as we think of it—in a courtroom with a jury and a judge on a bench. But it is a trial.

Who is the accused? God. God is on trial.

In this trial is a horrifying injustice. Some of you have experienced injustice. As bad as that is, this is worse. Far worse. The holy Son of God from heaven—the Creator of the heavens and the earth—is on trial. A mockery of a trial. He is being accused of a crime worthy of death. The irony of this moment is astonishing. The Giver of Life is facing Death. The King who rules over all creation is being treated like a criminal.

This story can….it must…change our lives.

John 18:28-19:16a

We’ll start in John 18 today.

As you are turning there, I will introduce myself. My name is Brad Barrett, one of the pastors here.

A little background: I attended Iowa State in Civil Engineering. I worked as an engineer for 15 years, mostly with the Department of Transportation. Then 19 years ago, I switched from engineering to full time pastoring here at Stonebrook. We train our pastors within our church. Through mentoring, serving in a variety of ways in the church, the family, and the workplace. And also through training in theology and leadership classes. If you’re curious about some of those details, I would enjoy talking further with you.

Now to our text today.

We are nearing the end of a sermon series going through the Gospel of John. The word “Gospel” simply means “Good news.” So this is the Good News about Jesus Christ, and it was penned by one of Jesus’ disciples names John. And the words were inspired by the Holy Spirit of God.

So these words we will read today have been ordained by God himself. They are not to be taken lightly, but soberly with joy. Sometimes it may seem to us that God is a million miles away, but he is very near to us, both through the presence of the Holy Spirit and through his words recorded as Scriptures.

Today’s passage has, somewhat subtly but profoundly, a major theme: KINGSHIP.

Jesus is mocked as a King over Israel. He is pitted against the Roman King, Caesar, by his own people who deny him as their king. And then Jesus declares he is a king, but he has a kingdom in another world.

Before we read today’s passage, we need some background. Jesus is in his last hours on earth. His death on the cross is only a few hours away. He ate his Last Supper with the disciples just a few hours before. And he gave them a long sermon and a prayer to God the Father…..all recorded in John 13-17.

Then last week we read about Jesus going to the Garden of Gethsemane where he was arrested, having been betrayed by his close friend, Judas Iscariot. He was taken to the high priest where he was interrogated by the high priest, Caiaphas, and other Jewish leaders.

With no justification, the Jewish leaders declare th…

Jesus remains faithful to His Father and courageously steps forward to face His enemies. He is betrayed by one of his closest companions, is repudiated by His lead disciple, and suffers alone. His courage, sacrifice, and faith reassures us of His love and power and inspires us to imitate Him. His suffering encourages us as we realize that our Savior can identify with our sufferings.

As we live life following Jesus, we are going to face trouble, persecution, and perhaps even the threat of death for our faith. But we will have everything we need: God knows and is in control, he provides everything we need for the mission through The Holy Spirit and through answered prayer, take heart: we will be with Jesus again soon.

The promise of the Christian life is abundant joy, a deep-rooted, unshakeable understanding of identity and purpose, peace with God, peace with our fellow Christians, power from the Holy Spirit for life and ministry, and persecution, ridicule,  exclusion from circles of influence, and possibly even death at the hands of those who will not acknowledge the lordship of Jesus over all things.

That’s a pretty cheery intro, isn’t it? It’s a pretty far cry from most of the really popular Christian self-help books out there. A pretty far cry from the popular television preachers, whose beautiful faces and shining teeth adorn their best selling books.

But it is exactly the life Jesus promised: Deep-rooted joy, an unshakable sense of identity and purpose, peace with God, peace with our family in the church, power from the Holy Spirit, and persecution and death from the world.

Life in Jesus’s name is an exceedingly abundant and fruitful life, but in entirely different categories than the things the world values, and the things that our flesh would find comfortable.

Review: Upper room discourse so far, summarized.

Today we are wrapping up John 13-16, what is known as “The upper room discourse”, where Jesus lays out his final teaching for his disciples, his final marching orders before heading to the cross the next evening.

I think Jesus’s teaching in these four chapters can be summarized this way:

I am going away.

Imitate me: love one another.

You will have trouble,

but have courage, because

you will be with me soon.

Ask for whatever you need.

The Helper is coming.

These are threads that are repeated throughout the 4 chapters of the upper room discourse. There might be other ways of slicing them, but I think this is a good summary.

Today we are going to focus on the “…but have courage because…” part.  That’s what I want to encourage you with today. “Take heart.” “Be courages.” “Be confident in Jesus.” “Do not fear.”

Let’s read today’s chapter to find out why we ought to take heart.  READ: John 16

Trouble, persecution, and death are coming.

“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.”

John writes to the first century church, who are under immense pressure from persecution and hostility from the Jews and the Roman Empire, and recounts Jesus’s promises and warnings to comfort them.

As hard as persecution is, there is a comfort In knowing that God not only is aware of it, he was aware of it beforehand, and all Jesus’s actions were based on a plan that accounted for it.

He shows that their greatest threat is not death, but apostasy

What is going to happen to them (persecution) ought not take them by surprise, and is not outside Jesus’s knowledge or control.

But they are to take heart for what I see as three big reasons: God knows what is coming, and is in control of it, they are going to get to be with Jesus again soon, God is going to give them everything they need in the meantime.

But Take heart. Jesus knows, and is in control.

v.4: “But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.”

You say “now we get it!” But are you sure?

To the first-century church: God saw their struggle coming.

To us today: Take heart: God sees you, knows you, knew this was coming, and is in control.

TAKE HEART: you will have all the help you need!

God promises that we will have all that we need while we are waiting through this trial and persecution, and he promises to provide it in two ways: The Holy Spirit, and Prayer. And if I’m honest, I struggle with Jesus’s words here a bit.

The Holy Spirit

v.7 “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to …

After the resurrection, Jesus left the earth and promised to come back later. But until then, we are not alone, for he has given us the Holy Spirit as our helper. And he has also given us instructions and called us to bear fruit. Like a grapevine overflowing with luscious grapes, we are to bear the fruit of God. And we do this according to a rather odd expression: we are to abide in the Vine.

We like options in our lives, lots of options. Classes to take, cars to buy, cell phone plans to sign up for. And what about religion? Can we have many options to choose from there, too? Spoiler alert: Jesus says no.

In the final hours before His death, Jesus gives His disciples final marching orders, preparing them for a future without His physical presence. He begins with an act of humble, selfless, sacrificial, gracious love. As always, Jesus sets the example, inspiring us in how we ought to live and serve and love.

We are now a little over half-way through John’s gospel, and we are coming to an end of John’s record of his public ministry. Jesus realizes that “the hour has come”, and he gives a final exhortation to all who will hear him: “Walk in the light, lest the darkness overtake you.” A final exhortation to believe that he is God’s Messiah. John records this exhortation for us: respond to Jesus while we still have the opportunity.