Month: April 2026

Good morning church! Glad to see you all this morning. Thank you so much for your prayers, messages and concern as our family was recovering from the sickness. I’m so happy to be back this Sunday to fellowship and be encouraged with you all. I’m grateful for the gift of the local church.

Even as we turn to God’s Word this morning, I want to remind us that this is a very precious and important time. Because if the Word is being preached faithfully as it should be preached, then all of us will be held accountable to what we’ve heard.

Let’s remember that our accountability isn’t just to the pastor or to the church, but our accountability will be to God Himself. So that’s the seriousness with which we need to approach this time.

As a church we’ve been going through a series titled Believing and Knowing Jesus from the gospel of John. The apostle John wrote this book with the laser eyed focus of helping us believe (commit, entrust and surrender) and know (personally, intimately, experientially) Jesus.

And right now we find ourselves in chapter 7 where the events of this chapter happen around 6 months before Jesus’ death and resurrection. So he has spent a considerable amount of time doing ministry by then. What we’re going to learn today is the different responses people had toward Him. But before we proceed, let’s look to the Lord in prayer.

Pray

Imagine if you and I were part of a kingdom where our king had gone away on a long journey for many years and we were eagerly waiting for Him to come to us. Imagine the scene as our king finally returns home! What do you think the responses and reaction would be?

Joy & celebration – a month of festivals would be planned to celebrate the coming of our king. A red carpet would be rolled out & a stage would be set to honor our king. He would be welcomed with such warmth and affection – because this is our king! This is the One that we’ve been waiting for.

Interestingly, the Jews and the Israelites waited for centuries for the Promised King and Messiah to arrive. But when he finally arrived in the person of Jesus – God’s Son, their response was exactly the opposite. It was one of rejection. It was one of hatred.

John 1:11 ESV

[11] He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

Today what we’re going to do is spend some time digging deep into the various responses that people had towards Jesus their King. Let’s try to understand why they responded in the way that they did. Are there any lessons that we can learn in terms of our responses to Jesus?

1. Response of Jesus’ family (V1-9)

[1] After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him.

The context that John sets up for us is the growing hostility and aggression of the Jewish leaders towards Jesus. By hostility, it’s not just their frustration or criticism of Jesus. They are actively contemplating murder. They’ve begun making plans on how to eliminate Jesus.

Jesus was aware of that and so He decides to remain in Galilee rather than go to Judea where a plan is being hatched on how to kill Jesus.

[2] Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand.

The Jewish feast of booths or feast of tabernacles was one of the most popular and celebrated festivals for the Jews. Crowds would travel from all over and come to Jerusalem to celebrate the festival. Not just Jews, even foreigners would be present during this festival.

What would happen here is that the people would make temporary shelters made of leaves and branches and live in it for one whole week. This was to remind them of God’s presence, provision and protection over them while they roamed around in the wilderness for 40 years.

The timing of this festival was also important. It would be during the time of agricultural harvest – so it was a time to thank God for His provision in the last year and it was just before the rainy season – so it was a moment for them to hope and ask God to renew favor for the next year.

By NT times, Jews had added some more rituals to the Feast of Booths. One was a ceremony with water which was done everyday in the morning. Then there was a ceremony involving lights. The reason why I’m mentioning these ceremonies is because Jesus will touch upon these themes in the coming passages.

Jesus will reveal to His people that He is the fulfillment of the Feast of Booths. This whole festival was about Him. To just give one example: the word that’s used for booths or tabernacle is the exact same word used by John in John 1:14

John 1:14 ESV

[14] And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

That word “dwelt” among us is the same word that is used to describe the Feast of Booths. What is John trying to say here? Just as God remained with His people and took care of them while they were in the wilderness for 40 years, here is our Lord who has come to permanently live with us and take care of us not just for our short earthly lives but unto eternity.

[3] So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing.

[4] For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.”

Jesus’ brothers advice him to seize the moment – make the most of the opportunity of having the entire Jewish crowd present in one place at the Feast of Booths & create this spectacle by doing some amazing miracles out there and according to them, that’s how Jesus is supposed to reveal Himself to the world.

Seasoned politicians and businessmen know exactly how to do that. They identify the grand moments and then they know what to say and do in those moments to make it go viral and then become the talk of the town and create hysteria around them.

That’s what Jesus’ brothers are telling him – if you truly are the Christ, if you are who you claim to be, then why are you doing it in secret? You need to go and do this in public.

[5] For not even his brothers believed in him.

What the brothers were saying wasn’t coming from a place of wanting Jesus to be glorified, it was coming from a place of sarcasm or mocking.

This verse is critical because though the brothers of Jesus saw Him up close, they had the best seat in the house to hear from Jesus, to witness His miracles, to see His spotless life and yet they didn’t believe in Him.

Proximity to Jesus doesn’t guarantee faith in Jesus. We can be close to Jesus in physical proximity and still be far away from Him.

[6] Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. [7] The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. [8] You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” [9] After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

Jesus reminds His brothers that He cannot operate according to their timing and plans but He operates according to God’s timing and plans. Their plan of Jesus revealing Himself to the world meant Jesus going and “wowing” the crowd with miracles. God’s plan of Jesus revealing Himself to the world meant Jesus going and dying on the cross for our sins.

It’s the dealing with our sins that is why Jesus came to the earth. Jesus clarifies that in V7 – the world hates Him because He testified that it’s work is evil. Confronting sins. Exposing people’s hearts. And then providing a way for saving and rescuing them is why Jesus came. Not to come and “wow” people with miracles.

What’s interesting is that the entire time when Jesus was there in the Feast of Booths, he performed no miracles. His primary purpose was to expose people’s hearts. Expose their need for help, so that they can run to Him for salvation.

That was the response of his family. But there was also a

2. Response of the crowd (V10-13)

 [10] But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. [11] The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” [12] And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.” [13] Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

Jesus does go to the Feast later on but not publicly but in private – in secret because the time had not yet come to reveal Himself and His purposes to the people.

But though Jesus went there in secret, there was a buzz around Him. The Jewish leaders were obviously searching for Him.

Among the crowd, there was a divided opinion on Jesus and it couldn’t be more contrasting from each other. Some people said “He is a good man” while others said that “He is leading people astray” – by calling God His Father and equating Himself with God. Completely opposite views of Jesus. There was no neutral ground. People either loved Him or they hated Him.

It’s similar to how CS Lewis describes the trilemma when it comes to Jesus. He is either a liar, a lunatic or the Lord. Every person irrespective of who you are, will have to make a decision on what you think about Jesus – on what your response is going to be towards Jesus.

Do you think he’s a liar (fake claims)? Do you think he’s a lunatic (he’s crazy and he doesn’t know what he’s saying) or He is the Lord? But it’s a risky statement to say that Jesus is Lord because if He is, then it’s going to demand your entire life’s surrender. Not 50 percent, not 70 percent, not 90 percent – 100 percent of your life needs to be turned over to Him if He is Lord.

That was the response of the crowd, earlier we saw the response of Jesus family, but there is also

3. Response of Jewish leaders (V14-24)

[14] About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching.

This is an astonishing verse. Because we thought Jesus didn’t want to go public, we thought Jesus wanted to be secretive. We thought Jesus wanted to keep things under wraps until later. Why is Jesus then going and teaching in the temple? It’s like going into the lion’s den when you know that people are plotting to kill you. Why is Jesus doing this?

In Mark chapter 6 which talks about the same account of Jesus feeding the five thousand, Mark mentions a very interesting comment.

Mark 6:34 ESV

[34] When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

When Jesus saw the crowd and His heart was moved with compassion for them. When he saw that they were sheep without a shepherd, Jesus’ way of responding to them was by teaching them. The most loving things that Jesus could do to care for them was to teach them. Instruct them. Point them to the Father because that’s what our heart needs. That’s the only thing that can quench the longings of our heart which is the truth of God’s word.

Have you ever considered that one of the most loving things that God can do for you is teach you His Word? Have you ever considered that one of the most caring acts of God is to care for you through His Word?

We sometimes think of God’s care only in terms of daily provision, answered prayer – and these things are important. We ought to come to God with every kind of need and He delights in providing for our every need. But over and above all those needs, He knows that we are sheep without a shepherd, and so He loves teaching us through His Word. That’s His care for us.

So we begin to understand why Jesus despite the animosity and hostility decided to still go and teach in the Temple.

[15] The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?”

Jewish Rabbi’s had to undergo rabbinic seminary training for many years before they were able to teach in public settings. And so they were shocked when they heard Jesus had such amazing command over the OT Scriptures and was able to preach with such authority without having any rabbinic training or credentials. In our time we would say “how is he able to do it without any formal degree or certificate?” How is this carpenter’s son preaching with such clarity and authority?

 [16] So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. [17] If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.

Jesus’ knowledge and authoritydidn’t come from learning under a rabbi or going to rabbinic seminary. Jesus’ knowledge and authority comes from His relationship with the Father. Jesus openly declares the source of His knowledge – “It’s come from my Father”. It tells us a lot about Jesus’ close relationship with Father, where Jesus trusts the Father completely and His Father delights to reveal everything to Him. There’s nothing hidden between them.

And then Jesus lays down an interesting test for people to know whether Jesus’ teaching is from God or self- manufactured? “If anyone’s will is to do God’s will” – in other words, if you desire to obey God – if the attitude of your heart is one of obedience then you will know that this teaching is from God.

Again, let’s remember who Jesus is speaking to right now. Learned Jewish leaders – Jesus is telling them that if they need to test Jesus’ teaching and understand its source, it can happen only if they have an attitude of obedience. If they don’t have an attitude of obedience, they will not understand that this teaching has come from the Father.

Again, just to highlight the importance of having an attitude of obedience when we approach God’s Word.

[18] The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.

In everything Jesus ever did or said, He always sought the glory of the Father. Time and time again we see Jesus giving glory to the Father in the Gospels. Just like the obedience test, this is also another test to show that Jesus is truthful in everything that He says and does.

 [19] Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?” [20] The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” [21] Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel at it. [22] Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. [23] If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well? [24] Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

Then as Jesus continues to teach, he exposes their hypocrisy and sin. He peels off the layers to reveal what’s really going on in the hearts of these super religious leaders.

Firstly, he exposes their sin with respect to the law. On the outside it looked like these were very learned, obedient followers of the law. But deep down in their hearts, they weren’t keepers but breakers of the law because they were plotting to kill Jesus.

Why were they plotting to kill Jesus because Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath. Jesus then addresses that as well by exposing their hypocrisy and double standards.

These Jewish leaders were okay making allowances if someone gets circumcised on a Sabbath because that is needed for that person to be included into the covenant family. But they made a huge scene with Jesus healing and restoring a person on the Sabbath. So in one case, an allowance is made on the Sabbath and in the other case, it becomes the basis for rejection, hatred and murder.

And that’s why these Jewish leaders hated Jesus even more because Jesus exposed what was going on in their hearts. But before we get judgmental on them, what if you and I were in their shoes?

Many times we imagine how beautiful and wonderful it would be if we were there in Jesus’ time listening to him preach. The truth is that many of us wouldn’t find his preaching too comfortable to listen to. Why? Because it would also expose our hearts and intentions. Not from a place of insulting and shaming or schooling them, but to actually help us have a right view of our problem so that we can run to Jesus as the solution. So even in the midst of this very hard and difficult teaching exposing hearts, Jesus wants the Jewish leaders to repent.

Good morning church! Happy Resurrection Sunday to all of us! I wanted to welcome everyone, even our new friends who have joined us this morning. We’re so glad that you’re here and we pray that this time together would be meaningful for you and would help you appreciate Jesus and what He has done in a new and fresh way.

Before we begin, let’s ask God to help us make sense of this passage & also be able to respond to Him in humility and trust.

If you were to walk up to someone on the street and ask them to rank their greatest fears of life, what do you think would come up on top almost every time?

It would be the fear of death! The fear of passing away. And there are of course other real fears: fear of losing a job, fear of not having enough money, fear of broken relationships and conflict, fear of war, fear of what tomorrow would bring – uncertainty, fear of getting a terminal disease.

All these are very real fears, but the fear of death would still be the topmost fear in every person’s life. Why? Because it’s an inevitable reality. The richest and the wealthiest among us also faces the reality of death as much as the poorest among us. The strongest and healthiest among us also faces the reality of death as much as the weakest and unhealthiest.

It is a common, shared, mutual reality for every human being who has ever lived on the earth. No wonder it ranks on top of everyone’s fears.

And that’s why there’s a multi billion dollar industry today called the life extension industry or longevity industry that’s trying different things to prolong a person’s life, to keep him or her from aging or dying. The world is trying to find a solution for something that they don’t fully understand and for which they simply don’t have the expertise. It’s simply beyond human control.

And that’s why passages like the one that we’re studying this morning are so valuable for us because it tells us that it’s not just our modern era that has questions about death and what happens after death. Believers in the early church also wrestled with the same questions.

The church in Corinth in fact wrote to their spiritual leader Paul asking him about what happens after death? Some wondered if their existence completely ceased after death (no spirit, no body)? Some others wondered if only the spirit went into the afterlife without any physical body (only spirit, no body)? They wondered if the resurrection was real or is it just a work of fiction?

And Paul being their loving, caring spiritual father and leader spends a whole long chapter explaining, proving and reasoning with the church so that they understand that the resurrection is real and that’s the greatest, sure shot hope that we have against the reality of death.

3 Reasons why we can say that resurrection is real for a believer:

1. Because of the basis of the resurrection (V1-4)

[1] Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, [2] and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

[3] For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, [4] that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

Paul takes them back to the very first message that he preached to them. What was this message? It was the Gospel message. The word Gospel means good news! It’s the good news that Jesus has brought God’s rule into the world through His life, death and resurrection. We’ll dive deep into that in just a few moments.

And then he goes on to say that when the Corinthian church heard this gospel message, they received it. They soaked it in. They welcomed it. They decided to bank their whole lives upon this gospel message.

And then he says something so amazing – “in which you stand and by which you are being saved” – lest the believers think that this gospel message was only necessary on the first day they believed and afterwards they graduated out of the gospel. Lest they think that they no longer needed the gospel and that they could do without it.

And Paul tells them – no you are standing on this gospel message today. You are being changed by this gospel message today. Don’t ever think that you can outgrow the need of the Gospel in your life. Don’t ever think that you are a Gospel graduate. Without the Gospel, your faith simply has nothing to stand on. It’s like a chair without legs.

“If you hold fast to the word I preached to you – unless you believed in vain”. Paul isn’t abdicating the believer’s responsibility of holding on to the gospel message that was preached to them. He’s not saying that their faith will automatically take care of itself. He’s telling the church to make an effort in holding on to the gospel message that was preached to them. He’s telling them “you need to constantly, repeatedly, daily go back to the Gospel message that was preached to you. Don’t forget that message.”

And then in V3-4, he breaks down the Gospel for them once more.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received:

“First importance” – Paul is stating what was his top most priority when he preached to them. Before he preached anything else, he wanted to make sure they got this. They understood this and they believed in this. It was his No. 1 priority.

that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,

Christ died for whose sins? Not His sin – He was sinless, innocent and perfect. He died for our sins! The reason why Jesus died on the cross was because of our many many many sins. You and I don’t just sin in our words and our actions alone, we sin in our thoughts and attitudes as well. And all of these sins are being committed against a Holy God.

And so we have a chargesheet that lists the number of sins that we’ve committed against Holy God, and guess what? That chargesheet doesn’t end because a minute doesn’t go by without us sinning against God.

And our God is a Righteous Judge, He can’t just let moral criminals like us go scot free. If He gives us a clean chit without punishment, then He wouldn’t be Righteous. Romans 6:23 – the wages of sin is death.

The salary for our life of sins is death! We all deserve death – which is being eternally separated from God in hell. But God being so rich in mercy and love didn’t want us to be eternally separated from Him and so He sent His one and only Son Jesus Christ to this earth to live the life that you and I needed to live but couldn’t live. And then die the death that you and I deserved to die.

Romans 5:8 ESV

[8] but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Whenever we look at a symbol of the cross, we ought to remember that we should have been there. That should have been us, not Him. And yet He did that for us to pay the price for that massive mountain size chargesheet with our names. He did that to clear your and my name in the eyes of God with His sacrifice.

Christ died for us in accordance with the Scriptures – this wasn’t some haphazard, last minute, reactive Plan B. This was God’s plan A all along since eternity past – before the foundations of the world (Ephesians 1) and it was prophesied time and time again in the OT. Like Isaiah 53 which talks about the suffering servant and it was written 700 years before Jesus came down to the earth.

V4. that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

After Jesus paid the entirety of the price that needed to be paid to clear the enormous, massive, mountain sized chargesheet against us, he was buried in a tomb. This was real death. Jesus didn’t just faint or pass out. He died and was buried.

Then on the third Day, Jesus rose from the dead! He physically rose from the dead! How amazing is that?

Some years back we invited our neighbours home for a Christmas get together and we decided to share not just about His birth but His death and resurrection. And as I mentioned that Jesus came back to life on the third Day, one of our neighbours was stunned at hearing that. He was astonished to know that Jesus came back from the dead.

And I kept wondering, why am I not amazed at the way my neighbour was? It’s that amazing  – that there was one person who defeated death in its face!

This amazing Resurrection was also according to the Scriptures. This resurrection also was also not a reactive Plan B. It was prophesied and written down in the Scriptures. One example was the passage that we read in the morning for call to worship:

Psalm 16:10 ESV

[10] For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.

David was not talking about himself here, but was prophesying how the Messiah would rise from the dead.

This is the basis of the resurrection – the Gospel message of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.

The second reason why Paul is saying that resurrection is the real deal for believers

2. Because of the Proof of Christ’s resurrection (V5-11)

Paul is like a defense attorney who is calling in eye witnesses to come and present their witness accounts to Jesus’ real resurrection.

[5] and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

Jesus appeared to Peter and the 12. These were Jesus’ close circle of inner disciples.

[6] Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.

We’re not talking about a handful of people who saw the risen Christ. We are talking about at least 500 people who saw the risen Christ. And then he says an interesting thing – most of whom are still alive. Which means that if anyone had any doubt on the resurrection of Jesus, they could have easily cross checked with the living eye witnesses themselves.

[7] Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. [8] Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. [9] For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. [10] But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. [11] Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

The last proof is his own testimony where he refers to himself as “untimely born” and “unworthy to be called an apostle” – why? because Paul persecuted the church. He hated the name of Jesus and he hated Jesus’ church. He was one of the approvers at Stephen’s stoning. Acts 9 tells us that Paul breathed threats and murder against the disciples of Jesus.

And so if there was one person in the world who was the hardest to convince, that was Paul. And if Paul got converted and now is being used as a minister of the Lord Jesus, then Jesus’ resurrection must be true.

So there’s the basis of resurrection – gospel message. There’s the proof of the resurrection – in terms of the eye witnesses who were still alive at that time when the letter was written. And finally, we know that the resurrection is real

3. Because of the Impact of Christ’s resurrection on us (V12-19)

 [12] Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? [13] But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.

What Paul is saying here is huge. He’s saying that if Christ’s resurrection is a fact, then every believer’s resurrection is also a fact.

It cannot be one or the other. Both have to be true. Either there is no real resurrection for both Jesus and the believer in Christ. Or there is a real resurrection which happened to Jesus and will 100% certainly be experienced by every true believer in Christ.

[14] And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.

Jesus’ resurrection is central to our faith. It’s not a side topic. If Jesus isn’t raised from the dead, then Paul’s preaching and the believer’s faith is empty, zero and useless.

 [15] We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.

If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then Paul is guilty of misrepresenting God – being a false witness about God because he claimed that God raised Jesus from the dead when he preached to them which was not the case if there is no Resurrection.

 [16] For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.

Christ’s resurrection = a believer’s resurrection. We sometimes don’t fully get what it means to be united to Jesus Christ. He doesn’t take the union with us lightly.

A few examples in the Bible. When Jesus confronts Paul on the road to Damascus, He doesn’t tell him “Why are you persecuting my people?” He asks him “Why are you persecuting me?” Because persecuting Jesus’ people means persecuting Jesus’.

Ephesians 2:5-6 ESV

[5] even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— [6] and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Those who are in Christ will also have a seat with Christ in the heavenly places.

Romans 8:17- we are fellow heirs with Christ.

So close and so seriously Jesus takes His  union with the church, that He allows the church to enjoy the many privileges that He has.

It’s like a marriage where by virtue of the marriage, what belongs to the husband now also belongs to the wife and vice versa.

So in the same way, if Christ is raised, then certainly His bride – the church – His people will also be raised.

[17] And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.

The assurance of our faith and the assurance of our forgiveness lies in Jesus’ resurrection. Good Friday was when the full payment was made. Resurrection Sunday is when we got the receipt – paid in full & you’re clear. That’s how significant it is for God and for us.

[18] Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. [19] If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

If Christ hasn’t been raised, then believers who have died believing in Him have perished forever. What was the point in trusting in Him and devoting their lives to Him if there was no resurrection?

And if our hope in Christ is only limited to this earthly life, then we are to be pitied of all the people! People need to have pity on us if there is no hope for eternity.

There is a real impact of Christ’s resurrection on our lives! That’s why we refer to it as Resurrection Sunday. Not because we just want to be different. Not even because of pagan origins of the name Easter.

But because resurrection is real for every believer in Christ? How do I know?

• Because there is a solid basis for the resurrection
• Because there is proof of the resurrection and
• Because there is an impact of Christ’s resurrection on us.

For who is not a believer

For those who are believers

Good morning church! If you’ve been tracking with us, you’re aware that we’re going through a series titled Believing and Knowing Jesus from the Gospel of John.

The apostle John wrote this book precisely so that the readers would believe and know Jesus. At the end of this book, he clearly states his purpose by writing:

John 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.

Believing and Knowing Jesus is the point of this book. So even as we prepare ourselves to hear from God’s Word, that should be the expectation in our hearts. That we would believe and know Jesus – that we would commit our lives to Him, entrust our lives to Him and know our Savior deeply and intimately.

So before we proceed, let’s ask God for help to understand this passage and apply it in our daily walk with Him.

Could you imagine people shutting their ears at the words of Jesus? Could you imagine people saying that they have heard enough of Jesus and can’t listen to him for a second more? Could you imagine people being deeply offended by the words of Jesus? And yet that’s what we see happening in our passage today.

What’s even more remarkable is the background context in which we find people being offended by Jesus. Just 24 hours earlier, many of them had witnessed an astonishing sign of Jesus feeding 5000 men alone (adding women and children – this could have been anywhere between 10-15000 people) by multiplying 5 barley loaves and 2 fishes. And it’s not as though they shared crumbs among themselves, the Bible says that the crowd ate their fill and were fully satisfied.

And so overwhelmed were they by this sign, that the Bible tells us that they declared that “Jesus is indeed the Prophet who was to come into the world”. Not just that, they were trying to take him and make him king. That’s the instant reaction that the people had towards Jesus 24 hours earlier!

Jesus’ popularity was at its peak. From a worldly sense, this was the moment when his ministry was supposed to kick off and go to a whole another level. And yet within 24 hours, in the eyes of this very same crowd, Jesus is no longer seen as their hero. He is no longer a candidate for kingship.

So what happened? Did Jesus change within 24 hours? Did people suddenly change within 24 hours? Or was it that people were always the same, but they never really, truly knew what it meant to follow Jesus!

And so that’s what we’re going to spend some time diving into today – what does it mean to follow Jesus? What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus?

3. Following Jesus is a gift from God (V60-65)

[60]  When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”

I want us to focus on a couple of words in this verse. “Many” and “disciples”. Like we’re not talking about a handful of people. We are talking about a large number of whom? Jesus’ disciples at the time!

These were not ordinary people who followed Jesus in the crowd. These were “disciples” or “learners” or “followers” who dedicated their lives to following the teachings and their lifestyle of their Rabbi – in this case it was Jesus. So we’re talking about dedicated students and disciples of Jesus.

And what were they saying? “This is a hard saying (harsh, difficult), who can listen to it?”

What hard teaching were they referring to?

John 6:41

[41] So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”

The Jews basically grumbled saying “How can Jesus say that He’s come down from heaven when we know his biological father and mother. We know his home address. We know his family. How can he say that?”

John 6:53-58

[53] So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. [54] Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. [55] For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. [56] Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. [57] As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. [58] This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

They were wondering “Is Jesus talking about cannibalism here? Why is he telling us to eat his flesh and drink his blood? This is a repulsive, violent teaching.”

But was Jesus actually talking about cannibalism? No! So what does Jesus mean about feeding on him? We need to go back a few verses earlier.

John 6:35 ESV

[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.

Jesus is using an analogy of something as basic for survival as physical bread to show how much they need Him for their spiritual survival and sustenance. If Jesus is the spiritual bread that our spiritual lives survive on, then feeding on this spiritual bread means what? Coming to Him & believing in Him. It means humbly approaching Jesus and committing your life, entrusting your life, surrendering your life to Jesus as the only source of your spiritual survival and sustenance.

Another verse in the same passage to help us understand what Jesus means by feeding his flesh and blood.

John 6:51 ESV

[51] I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

It’s clear that Jesus is talking about His loving, willing sacrifice on the cross for our sins. Let’s remember that Jesus didn’t go up on that cross because he committed a crime. He went up on that cross because we were condemned criminals before Holy God. We deserved to die. We deserved God’s anger. We deserved hell.

Romans 5:8 ESV

[8] but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus went up that cross, bore our punishment and our sin and died in your place and mine. Every time we look at a cross, it’s supposed to be a humble reminder that we should have been there instead. But yet Jesus in His love stood in our place for us. He died for us.

He was buried in a tomb and then after 3 days He rose from the dead so that whoever may repent (turn from our sins and living for ourselves) and believe in what Jesus has done for us, would be saved and granted eternal life.

So is Jesus talking about cannibalism? Absolutely not. He’s talking about believing in His sacrifice for us on the cross and holding onto that as the only thing that we need for our spiritual eternal survival.

[61] But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this?

Because Jesus is God, He knows what’s going on in our hearts even before we say it. And so Jesus confronts his disciples by asking them “are you offended by what I’m saying?”

Which is an interesting statement about the human heart because it tells us that many times Jesus’ words and word of God will sound offensive to us (not because Jesus is trying to hurt us) but because it’s confronting the sins and unbelief of our hearts.

[62] Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? [63] It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

Jesus is telling them that if the statement “I am the bread of life who came from heaven” is offensive to you, how will you respond when you will see me ascend and go back to heaven? And then in verses 63, Jesus diagnoses why they are finding Jesus’ words so offensive. It’s because they are still fleshy, earthly, worldly minded people. For them to receive and embrace what Jesus is telling them, the Holy Spirit will have to do something miraculous in their heart. The Spirit will have to awaken their hearts. The Spirit will have to pump new life into their hearts.

[64] But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)

Because He is God who knows the end from the beginning, He’s not surprised or confused when people refuse to put their faith in Him.

[65] And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

It’s a huge statement that Jesus is making here. He’s saying that unless the Father grants permission, unless the Father allows, unless the Father enables, unless the Father gives the green light, no one can come to Jesus.

Now that’s a mystery that we can’t understand with our finite minds. I can’t claim to have all the answers today to be able to explain that to you. But we need to recognize that for a person to come to faith in Jesus, something has to happen outside of that person’s control, desire and ability.

The Father has to give the green light. The Spirit has to awaken the dead heart for the person to see Jesus as their beautiful Savior and Lord.

And if you’re a believer in the Lord, that should fill your heart with worship and gratitude – because we had nothing to do with this. And if you’re an unbeliever or want unbelievers in your lives to get saved, that should move you to earnest prayer because you can’t do anything in your own strength to make someone a believer.

2. Following Jesus isn’t a matter of convenience; it is a matter of conviction (V66-69)

 [66]  After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.

Again those two words “many” and “disciples”. These were a large group of people who followed Jesus for sometime but at this point they walked away from Jesus. Why? Because their commitment was not to Jesus, it was to their expectations of what Jesus should say and do for them.

As long as Jesus was saying and doing the things that expected him to do, they hung around. The moment Jesus started saying hard things, the moment they realized Jesus wasn’t giving them what they wanted, the moment Jesus started confronting their sin and unbelief, the moment they realized that following Jesus would mean wholesale renovation and change in their life, they walked away.

[67] So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”

It’s amazing that Jesus would even ask this question to his twelve disciples when everyone else abandoned him. Is Jesus trying to reduce his team? But Jesus wanted to challenge them to ask themselves deep down why they were following Him? Is it because of some expectation? Is it because of something that they are expecting for Jesus to give them? Or were they following Him for who He is and what He came to do?

[68] Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, [69] and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

It’s such an amazing statement of faith in Jesus. Peter is telling Jesus that there’s no one else they can go to. It’s not because there weren’t any other options out there. There were plenty of other Rabbis.

But he was convinced that Jesus has the words of eternal life. Those these were hard and difficult sayings, it doesn’t make them untrue. Jesus sayings were true and would lead to eternal life. How was Peter so sure?

V69. We have believed (committed, entrusted, surrendered) and have come to know (ginosko – experiential knowledge or intimate knowledge through personal experience). In other words, Peter is saying that after spending time with Jesus, listening to Him and seeing His life, He’s convinced that Jesus is the Holy One of God. He is the Christ. He is the Messiah. He is the Son of God.

What if we were to ask ourselves the same question today? Why are you following Jesus today, what would you say?

3. Following Jesus is not a religious activity, but a relationship with Jesus (V70-71)

[70] Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” [71] He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

I find it so interesting that this passage on following Jesus ends in a very sad analysis of one of the 12 apostles. Jesus refers to him as “devil” which in the Greek which could mean slanderer or false accuser or someone who scatters and divides. And I think that is what is meant here – he had a divided heart with scattered desires.

Though he was one the Twelve, he had special access to Jesus and actively participated in ministry (he handled the ministry money (John 12:6) and he was sent out by Jesus to preach the good news, cast out demons and heal all kinds of diseases (Matt 10). Though it seemed like he was very close to Jesus, his heart was far away and was often divided and scattered. He never really followed Jesus. He was never really a committed believer.

And so that should leave us with a shocking warning that simply being around Christian things and activities will not make you a committed follower of Christ. Don’t assume that. Father has to give the green light. The Spirit has to awaken your dead heart. And Jesus needs to be seen as treasured and loved not because of your expectations but because of His loving, willing sacrifice for us.