Parmenter, Eric: Gospel Of John John 1_10 ~ Victoria Dr

We'll open our Bibles, please, at the Gospel by John and read a verse in chapter one, please. The Gospel by John, reading in chapter one. We read verse number 10 of John's Gospel, chapter one. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Hey, please, into chapter thirteen And verse number one. Chapter thirteen and verse number one. Now, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come, that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. I'm sure God will bless those, uh, verses of scripture to us as we may consider them with his help. It's very interesting when you come to the gospel by John that the writer leaves us in no doubt whatsoever as to the general purpose for his writing this gospel. When we come to the closing verses of chapter twenty, we find that the apostle, he lays out for us that many other signs did Jesus, which, uh, are not written in this book, but these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Very evident from that, uh, simple statement by the Apostle John as to why he wrote this gospel, that he had before him three particular things. Number one, he wrote the gospel in order to promote faith in Jesus, who is the Christ, the Son of God. And it's very interesting to observe that when John is very selective in his material with regard to the signs that he records for us, that after the first sign, his disciples believed on him in John chapter two. And after the last sign before the cross, in John chapter twelve, we read that many of the Jews believed on him. So you see the general purpose for the writing of this gospel was that faith might be promoted in the hearts of men and women with regard to who Jesus really was. But then there was another purpose, of course. For he wrote the gospel not only to promote faith, but also to create conviction, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. John had before him this great purpose too, that men and women might be brought to a conviction concerning who the person of the Lord Jesus Christ really is, that he is the Christ, the Son of God. And so we observe, do we not, that through the gospel, and as a result of the signs that he worked, that there were those who were impressed, convictions were formed in their hearts and in their minds concerning him. Some said, well, this is that prophet that should come. Others say, don't our rulers understand that this is the very Christ? And of course, when you get to chapter nine, the man that was born blind, he came to this conclusion when the Lord Jesus said to him, dost thou believe? And Jesus, the Son of God, and who is he, Lord? I that speaketh unto thee am he, and yet, Lord, I. And so you see that John's second purpose in the writing of this gospel was that there might be created within the hearts of men and women deep convictions concerning the person of the Lord Jesus. But then, of course, he had a third reason, and it was this, that there might be the communication of life. And so you find in John's Gospel chapter three that there are those who believed on him, and they received everlasting life. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. And so John's general purpose in writing this fourth gospel was to promote faith, create conviction, and to communicate life. I suppose it is from that standpoint that we often recommend this gospel unto those who are first coming into contact in a serious way with Christian things. We invite them to read the gospel by John, for in the reading of it, they can be brought to faith in Christ, have convictions about him as to who he is, and then to be brought into the blessing of eternal life communicated to them through faith in him. But then, of course, it's obvious in the reading of the gospel that John divides the gospel and its subject matter into two parts, and those two parts are easily identified if we observe what we've read in our reading. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. So we can take it for granted that from chapter one through to chapter twelve we have the ministry of the Lord Jesus unto his own. But then you go to chapter thirteen in verse one. and then we read this similar expression, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end or unto the uttermost. And yet you'll observe, will you not? They're not the same groups of people. Therefore, his own in chapter one refers to his own people, the nation of Israel. But his own in chapter thirteen are those eleven men who are gathered with him in the upper room, who will receive his teaching before he goes out to the cross at Calvary. And so we find the gospel by John is divided into these two parts. Chapters one to twelve, his ministry, that is the ministry of Christ unto his own, that is his own people, the nation of Israel. And then from chapter thirteen, the ministry of the Lord Jesus unto those he calls his own, whom he loved unto the uttermost. What we observe, do we not, as we look at these things, that the Lord Jesus, first of all, came unto his own people. And we find, do we not, that what characterizes the first twelve chapters of this gospel is this: the Lord Jesus is constantly coming unto his own and revealing himself unto them. And then we notice, at the same time, his own are constantly rejecting him and his claims that he makes in their presence. We want to look tonight at one or two things in the Gospel of John that will highlight for us the ministry of the Lord Jesus, first of all, in relation to his own, that is the nation of Israel, and then in relation to those who are found in the upper room with him. I suppose the thing that highlights this gospel in particular is the way in which the Lord Jesus Christ lays before his own people, Israel, his claims to be on equality with the Father. Again and again, he will bring their attention to this, my Father and I, or the Father sent me. I came to do the will of him that sent me. And we find that the Lord Jesus, in these opening twelve chapters, is bringing before the nation of Israel, his own people at this point in time, the revelation of himself in relation to his own father. In fact, he says to them again and again that God was his father. Therefore, the message of John's gospel, it really is based upon this tremendous fact that there was equality and relationship between the father and the son. God so loved the world, says chapter three, that he gave his only begotten Son. And again and again throughout these twelve chapters, the Lord Jesus Christ, he speaks of the Father having sent the Son, or as he speaks of God had sent him. And so we see the relationship that he enjoyed with God, his father, was crucial to the teaching and the development of this fourth gospel that come from the pen of John. When he makes his claim, God was his father, the result in every case, as far as his own people were concerned, was a forceful rejection of his claims. Now you just come with me. You haven't finished with your Bible just yet. Now come to chapter five. I want to show you how the Lord Jesus presents his claims unto his own people, Israel, in relation to his Father and himself. Look at chapter five for a moment with me. You'll observe, won't you, in chapter five, The first part of the chapter is taken up with the incident of the man at the pool of Bethesda. He's been there for thirty eight years, and we take it that quite clearly he was the very worst case of all the people that were there at the pool of Bethesda. It is significant, when the Lord Jesus Christ came to the pool of Bethesda, that the first person he goes to is this man who's been there for thirty eight years. He goes to the very one who is in, who is the worst case and in the greatest need, and he heals him. And then we're told it was the Sabbath day. So when the man who is healed takes up his bed and walks on the Sabbath day, he is met by certain of the Jews, and they accuse him of breaking the Sabbath day by carrying his bed. The response of this man was just this. He said, the man who had the power and ability to heal me was the very same man who gave me the authority to pick up my bed and carry it, even though it is the Sabbath day. So if you look at verse sixteen for a moment, therefore did the Jews... Oh, they persecuted Jesus and sought to slay him because he had done these things on the Sabbath day. And so we see now the Lord Jesus presenting himself unto these people, and he does this mighty work. And we find that as he did that mighty work, that they complained and sought to persecute and kill him because it was done on the Sabbath day. Now look at verse seventy. In response to that, the Lord Jesus Christ answers, my Father worketh hitherto, and I work. In other words, the Lord Jesus implied in those words he had the ability to do the same work as his father did. And if we keep that verse, my father worketh hitherto, and I work within the context in which it is found, it's evident that in those particular moments, when the waters of the pool were agitated and the first ones that were in were healed, that this was God working. We find that from time to time, God sent an angel from his throne to the pool, and when the pool was agitated in its waters, those who entered into the waters first, they were made whole. My Father worketh hitherto. Now, says the Savior, and I work. I do the same works as my Father. I have the same ability to do the works that my Father has done and is doing. And we find that as he made this particular statement unto them, verse eighteen, the Jews sought the more to kill him. And why was that? Because not only had he broken the Sabbath, that upset them immensely, but that he said God was his father, making himself equal with God. You see the statement the Lord Jesus Christ made, and within those very words that these Jews said, we have a very emphatic truth being expressed that God was his own full father. That is, God was his father in a distinct way from which he was their father. And therefore, God was his father in this unique way, and because of that claim, that revelation, they sought the more to kill him. But of course, the claims of the Lord Jesus and the revelation that he was equal with God, had the same capability to do the work of God, and thus the Jews said he made himself equal with God, is proved on down through the chapter. And from verse nineteen through to verse twenty six, the Lord Jesus Christ, he claimed equality with God. He was equality in cooperation in verse number nineteen and twenty. He was equal with God in life-giving in verse twenty one. And then he said he was equal with God in honor, verse twenty three. And furthermore, he was equal with God in utterance in verse twenty four. And then when you get to verse number twenty six, he was equal with God in self-existence. And so we find that this claim of equality with God resulted in the Jews seeking the more to kill him. He came unto his own, brought this great revelation to them that he and his father were one, and his own received him not. We come to chapter eight. As we come to chapter eight, we now find a chapter that's full of the teaching of the fatherhood of God. It stands in the chapter right the way through. If you look at verse number sixteen, the Lord Jesus himself says, I am the Father that sent me. And in verse eighteen, the Father that sent me bears witness of me. And then in verse nineteen of chapter eight, in reply to their question, well, where is thy father? And Christ answered, ye neither know me nor my father. So throughout these verses, and in this chapter, the Lord Jesus is talking about his father. When you get down to verse thirty nine, they say unto him, Abraham is our father. That is, they claimed descent from Abraham. Then in verse forty one they say, we be not born of fornication, insinuating, of course, in their wickedness and wilfulness, the Lord Jesus Christ had been born of fornication. They say, we be not born of fornication, we have one Father, even God. But of course, what they were saying was absolutely correct. Because when you move back into the Old Testament, we find that God is referred to as the father of the nation of Israel. So that when God sent Moses unto Pharaoh in Exodus chapter four and verse twenty two, it was with this message, Israel, my son. So you see what they were saying to the Lord Jesus, that God was their father, was very correct from that standpoint. When we come through to the prophecy of Hosea and chapter eleven and verse number one, now we learn from the prophet in relation to Israel that God has said, Israel have I called my son. When we come to the last book of our Old Testament, Malachi, chapter one and verse six, now he says unto the people through the problem, if I be a father, where is mine honor? Such was the deterioration in the relationship between God as the father of the nation and the nation viewed as son in relation to God. And so we find in this sense, Israel could claim that God was the father of the nation. But of course, the difference in what they claimed and what the Lord Jesus claimed was this, that Christ claimed God was his true father. Father in a distinct sense from that which he was unto the nation. In response to that, we see then in verse number thirty nine, they claimed Abraham was their father. So the Lord Jesus, he said unto them, you claim Abraham to be your father. In verses fifty six and fifty seven and fifty eight, he said, look, your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. And in the context of claiming God to be his father, he then made this statement unto the Jews, before Abraham was, or before Abraham became, I am. And having said that, their response was this: You were before Abraham. Thou art not yet fifty years old. So when the Lord Jesus said, before Abraham became I am, he was not just claiming prior existence, he was claiming pre-existence. And when he took up that divine name, the I am, then of course he was claiming for himself a title that belonged to God, and his equality with God is stamped once more upon the minds of these people. And when he said that, they took up stones to cast at him, and so he came unto his own. He brought this revelation of himself to them, of his relationship to God his Father, and his claims of equality with God, but they received him not. When we get to chapter nine, we've got that very fascinating incident of the man that was born blind. And the Lord Jesus Christ, he came and met that man, and he restored to him his sight. As a result of that, the man bore testimony unto the Jews of what Christ had done, and, uh, as they listened to that man's testimony, they rejected it altogether, and they cast him out of the synagogue, but into the arms of the Good Shepherd of chapter ten. And in chapter ten and verse number twenty nine, again, the Lord Jesus Christ claims relationship with his, with God as his Father, for he said God was his Father when he uttered these words, my Father. And in verse number thirty he says, I and my Father are one. That is, in relation to the eternal security of those whom he calls my sheep, they're not only in the hand of the shepherd himself, they're also in the hand of his father. And so when he says, I and my father are one, they were one in power in relation to the eternal security of the sheep. But there is far more in that statement than oneness in power. What the Lord Jesus Christ meant when he says, I and my Father are one, is that he and his Father were of one nature and of one essence. And again, again, as he makes that clear, reveals unto these Jews where he stood in relation to his father and to God, the Jews understood perfectly the implications of the words of the Lord Jesus, and they took up stones again to stone him in verse number thirty one. And so he came unto his own, and his own received him not. By the time we get to chapter eleven, we're nearing now the end of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ unto his own people. And we find as we come near to the end of his ministry, we have that great miracle of the Lord Jesus Christ, he, uh, he accomplished in the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Now, the raising of Lazarus from the dead was by no means the final proof that he was Israel's Messiah. In fact, just a cursory glance through those chapters in the Old Testament, in the prophecy of Isaiah, that deals with the claims of the Messiah and the works the Messiah would do, you will not find not one mention that the Messiah would raise the dead. So you see, by this great miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead, it did not in any sense give the final proof that here was the Messiah. What Isaiah thirty five and verse five, and again in Isaiah 42 and verses six and seven, are saying in relation to the Messiah and his claims and his work, the first work the Messiah would do would be to open the eyes of the blind. And in chapter nine, there was a man born blind. And then comes the Lord Jesus, and he opens the eyes of a man who was born blind. Now you'll notice, won't you? You've been through chapter nine before. You'll notice when you go through chapter, you'll mark now the energy with which the Jews would seek to, uh, discredit the miracle of this man having had his eyes opened by the Lord Jesus. First of all, the neighbors bring him to the Jews, and they question the man himself, and he gives his answers. But there were those there who did not believe the man was born blind at all. So next they bring his parents, and they examine his parents, but his parents, they they get themselves out of the predicament by saying, he's of age, ask him. You see, what they were trying to do in chapter nine was they were trying to discredit this one miracle, which was a work that actually claimed that Jesus was the Messiah. And if they can discredit that work, then of course his, uh, claims to messiahship will fall to pieces. But why go to such lengths? Why would these Jews be so opposed to this miracle? Well, they were well acquainted with Isaiah's prophecy, and they knew that servant song of Isaiah chapter forty two, which is messianic in character, and they knew very well that the first work of the Messiah would be to open blind eyes. Come with me again to chapter eleven, the raising of Lazarus. We read in verse number thirty seven of that chapter, some of them said, could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have have caused that even this man should not have died? What do you think are the implications in that verse. But read the verse backward. What I mean is, start from the end of the verse and work forward, and you'll see exactly what the implications were. What they were saying was this, that this man could not prevent Lazarus dying, and therefore if he, if he could not prevent this man dying, did he really give sight to the man that was born blind? And the implication in their minds was this: they were casting a doubt upon the earlier miracle because he had not come and raised the man that was sick. So when we get to verse number thirty nine, Jesus says unto them, take ye away the stone. Why? Could he not have brought Lazarus out of the tomb without the stone being moved? Of course he could. Why then taking away the stone? Because as the stone was being moved away, the awful stench of corruption would fill their nostrils, and they would know the man was really dead. Did not Martha say unto the Lord Jesus, Lord, he has been dead four days, and he already stinketh. When you go to verses forty one and forty two of chapter eleven, the Lord now engages in prayer unto his father. Why does he pray at this point? Listen. Listen to his words. Because of the people which stand stood by, he prayed that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And the object of the miracle that he was going to perform on Lazarus was that these people who were doubting at that point of time as to who he is, might be brought to believing that God had sent him. And so he cried, Lazarus, come. And he that was dead came forth bound hand and foot. So he didn't walk out, did he? With the grave clothes still wound around him, and the napkin still across his face. He didn't walk out of that grave, did he? Or no. So the Lord Jesus said, loose him and let him go. Now, why did not the Lord Jesus bring Lazarus out of that grave, out of that tomb, without the grave clothes. He could have done. For when he will rise from the dead, the grave clothes will be left behind in the tomb. Why didn't he do it this time? Because when he said unto them, loose him and let him go, he wanted them to see the, uh, vibrant life coursing through the whole being of the man who a moment before was in the stench, in the grip of the stench of death. And they would know, beyond all shadow of doubt now, that he who was corrupting in the tomb, in the grip of death, was alive. And therefore, that was something they could not doubt, that the man that was dead, stinking, corrupt, now stood before their very presence, alive, vibrant, with life given him by the Lord Jesus Christ. So by the time you get to the end of chapter eleven, the rulers have got a real problem on their hands. The Lord Jesus Christ has done these mighty miracles, opened blind eyes, raised the dead, and now as a result of that, many of the Jews believed on him. And then comes in Caiaphas, at verses forty nine and fifty, high priest that year, with all the craftedness of a politician. And he said, ah, it's expedient that one man should die for the nation. And so as you come into chapter twelve, which will close the ministry of the Lord Jesus unto his own people, we have a number of figures used, all of which concern the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. First of all, we find Mary's anointing him in the house at Bethany, and said the Savior, she hath done this against the day of my burying. His death is very much before. In verse number twenty three, in contrast to what we read in chapter two, mine hour is not yet come, he says the hour is come. And then he speaks of a corn of wheat falling into the ground and dying in verse twenty four. In verse twenty seven, his soul is troubled. In verse thirty two, he speaks of being lifted up from the earth, and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, all of which are figures, pictures of his impending death upon the cross. He has come unto his own, but his own received him not. And so we find that the Lord Jesus Christ, as he has completed this section of the events recorded by John in this gospel, and concludes his ministry with regard to Israel, we find that John sums it all up in verse number thirty seven of chapter twelve when he says this, but though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him. Then John, in verse thirty eight goes back to Isaiah. And he goes back to Isaiah fifty three, a- and and he quotes, Lord, who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord been revealed? Well, of course, the arm of the Lord is Christ. And Christ has been revealed. But his own have not believed him, and they have not received him, and they've not accepted him. And the reason why they have not received him nor accepted him is told us in verse forty, as now the quotation is from Isaiah chapter six: He hath blinded their eyes, he hath hardened their hearts that they should not see nor understand and be converted that I should heal them. And you know as well as I, Isaiah chapter six is the chapter in which we have the commission of Isaiah the prophet. against the background of the day, the year in which Uzziah the king died, and he saw that glorious throne with its throne sitter high and lifted up. And then we find this, that as Isaiah saw that, John says, in our chapter verse forty one, these things spoke Isaiah when he saw his glory. And when Isaiah saw the glory of the pre-incarnate Christ, that's when he received his commission. The call goes out. Who will go for us? Isaiah replies, here am I. Send. And so the Lord tells him, concerning the results of his ministry, as Isaiah would go out unto this same people. The Lord is saying, many, Isaiah, many will not believe. Their eyes will be blind, their ears deaf, their hearts hardened. They will not listen, they will not believe the message, they will not be converted, they will not that I should heal them. He said many will not believe. Yet he says, there shall be a tenth who will believe. And so it proved to be. The Lord came unto his own, and his own received him not. And if Isaiah spoke of the truth of a remnant called the tenth that relates to a future day in relation to the coming again of the Lord Jesus unto this nation. When we open chapter 13 and verse number one, we find there's a remnant there too. Having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end, completely, perfectly, to the uttermost. And so from chapter thirteen through to chapter twenty one, we now have the ministry of the Lord Jesus, not to Israel, they've rejected him, but unto his own. Those eleven men which were with him in the upper room, these men whom he loved and will continue loving unto the uttermost. And so now for the rest of the gospel, we have the ministry of Christ unto his own. In other words, chapters thirteen through to twenty one pictures for us the Lord Jesus Christ in different ways loving his own. In chapter thirteen, in his grace, he washes the feet of his own. He then goes on to tell them he was about to be betrayed. And he tells them of the betrayal, that wicked treachery of Judas, because he doesn't want them to be stumbled when it happens. He wants them to know that he knows about it all before it happens, that their faith may not waver. In chapter fourteen, he tells them, I'm going to prepare a place for you. Oh, he says, I'm going away. But you see, in my love, and the fact that I love you unto the uttermost, I'm going away to prepare, I'm going to prepare a place for you that where I am, there ye may be also. And so, in his love to the uttermost, he went out to the cross to prepare them for the place. He ascended to the throne in manhood to prepare the place for them. Then he tells them he will send another comforter, one like unto himself. And he goes on to tell them that the Father and himself will come and make their abode with them and in them in chapter fourteen. In chapter fifteen, he tells them further that they are united to him as branches to the vine, that they might bear fruit for God in this world. And then, having given the parable of the vine with its branches, he then tells them through chapter fifteen into chapter sixteen that the world will persecute them. In the world ye shall have tribulation. Is not this the way the master went? Shall not the servant tread it still? And so he tells them. He tells them beforehand that the world will hate them because it hated him. The world will persecute them because it persecuted him. And he tells them so, so when it all happens, they'll not be stumbled. And then in chapter seventeen, he prays for his own who are in the world. Chapter eighteen, He's in the Garden of Gethsemane. And when the enemies come, he says unto them, Whom seek ye? They say, Jesus of Nazareth. He says, I am. Startled at revelation that here is the great I am of the Old Testament standing before them in bodily form, they fall to the ground, prostrate before him. And then he says, if ye seek me, let these go their way. And he holds his enemies powerless whilst his own escape. In chapter nineteen, he goes out to the cross and dies for them, having loved his own, they were in the world. He loved them until the uttermost. In chapter twenty, he rises from the dead, and he appears unto his own. And in chapter twenty one, he comes to them again. And having loved his own which were in the world, and shown them that love in all its uttermost depths and lengths and breadths and all, he comes to them. He says to Peter, Peter, lovest thou me more than these? Peter says, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. And the Lord Jesus, as he spoke to Peter that day, as John concludes for us his ministry unto his own as it concerns his gospel, he comes to us here tonight too. What he said to Peter, he whispers into every ear present tonight. I couldn't have loved you more. I've loved you. I continue to love you. You're in the world, but having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the uttermost. He couldn't have loved us more. And now he says to you and to me, do you love me? And perhaps we ought to end the meeting just there, that we may make our way quietly home, think over again of his ministry to his own, having loved them which were in the world and loving them to the uttermost. Say to our hearts, he couldn't have loved me more. But do we love him? Do we really love him? Shall we pray? Our Father, we bow in thy presence and thank thee for our coming together, to be found in the presence of the Lord Jesus, with thy precious word open in our hand, to pr- to trace in this broad survey his ministry unto his own people, to whom he came, but they received him not. And then to briefly look at his ministry unto his own in the upper room, and see again the greatness and the majesty of the love of Christ. O God, we pray, as we close our meeting, that the very reality of the love of Christ may touch deeply our hearts, that there may be the same response that was found with Peter, Lord, thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love thee. We seek thy blessing upon us, our God tonight, and give thee thanks for the Savior in his precious name. Amen. We just take time to sing a verse of a hymn as we close the meeting, One hundred and thirty four. Lord Jesus, I love thee. I know thou art mine. My rock and my fortress, my surety divine. My gracious redeemer, my song shall be. 'Tis thou who art worthy, Lord Jesus. 'Tis thou. We sing from verse two, please, of number one hundred and thirty four.