1
00:00:00,566 --> 00:00:02,000
Hey everybody, thanks for joining us.

2
00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:03,383
Happy Monday.

3
00:00:03,383 --> 00:00:06,683
Glad to have you with us
as we continue through the Gospel of John.

4
00:00:07,950 --> 00:00:10,950
In the fifth chapter, verse 30.

5
00:00:14,233 --> 00:00:17,100
We're going to get a good dose

6
00:00:17,100 --> 00:00:21,000
of John's version of the gospel today.

7
00:00:22,100 --> 00:00:25,066
And we'll do our best to talk through it.

8
00:00:25,066 --> 00:00:28,550
I will I will warn you that, well,
maybe you won't feel this way,

9
00:00:28,550 --> 00:00:29,600
but I will warn you that

10
00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:33,800
I think this is one of those sections
that can maybe feel a little repetitive.

11
00:00:34,116 --> 00:00:37,066
I'll try to read through them
and read through the first half,

12
00:00:37,066 --> 00:00:40,766
relatively quickly, and
then we'll come back and we'll discuss it.

13
00:00:41,666 --> 00:00:43,766
This verse 30, chapter five.

14
00:00:43,766 --> 00:00:45,266
This is Jesus speaking.

15
00:00:45,266 --> 00:00:49,133
I can do nothing on my own, as I hear
I judge, and my judgment is

16
00:00:49,133 --> 00:00:54,600
just because I seek to do not my own will,
but the will of him who sent me.

17
00:00:54,916 --> 00:00:57,916
If I testify about myself,
my testimony is not true.

18
00:00:58,100 --> 00:00:58,850
There is another who

19
00:00:58,850 --> 00:01:02,450
testifies on my behalf, and I know
that his testimony to me is true.

20
00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:06,000
You sent messengers to John,
and he testified to the truth.

21
00:01:06,083 --> 00:01:09,683
Not that I accept such human testimony,
but I say these things that you

22
00:01:09,683 --> 00:01:11,066
may be saved.

23
00:01:11,066 --> 00:01:12,866
He was a burning and shining lamp,

24
00:01:12,866 --> 00:01:15,866
and you were willing to rejoice
for a while in his light.

25
00:01:16,050 --> 00:01:18,500
But I have a testimony
greater than John's.

26
00:01:18,500 --> 00:01:22,250
The works that the father has given me to
complete the very works that I am doing.

27
00:01:22,283 --> 00:01:25,816
Testify on my behalf
that the father has sent me.

28
00:01:26,150 --> 00:01:29,550
And the father who sent me has himself
testified on my behalf.

29
00:01:29,850 --> 00:01:33,566
You have never heard his voice
or seen his form, and you do not have

30
00:01:33,566 --> 00:01:37,666
his word abiding in you,
because you do not believe in whom?

31
00:01:38,816 --> 00:01:41,816
In him whom he has sent.

32
00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:45,833
So we mentioned last week

33
00:01:45,833 --> 00:01:51,616
that Jesus has, in the Gospel of John,
the sort of, almost legal

34
00:01:51,616 --> 00:01:57,083
sounding arguments as, as if there's,
there's some kind of case being made.

35
00:01:57,650 --> 00:02:02,566
And here that's especially true
as we talk about testimony and testifying.

36
00:02:03,016 --> 00:02:05,750
And Jesus is essentially saying,

37
00:02:05,750 --> 00:02:10,966
I don't need to testify on my own behalf
for two reasons.

38
00:02:10,983 --> 00:02:15,800
Others have done that for me
and most importantly, my works.

39
00:02:15,866 --> 00:02:18,750
What I do tells that story.

40
00:02:18,750 --> 00:02:23,116
If you would listen,
and because you do not listen, it's in.

41
00:02:23,116 --> 00:02:27,533
It's an indication
that you don't know the truth,

42
00:02:27,766 --> 00:02:31,650
that you don't know
even the one who is the truth.

43
00:02:32,116 --> 00:02:34,166
He testifies on my behalf.

44
00:02:34,166 --> 00:02:38,066
He shows people who I am
because I do his work.

45
00:02:38,333 --> 00:02:40,283
But you don't believe in me.

46
00:02:40,283 --> 00:02:42,866
Therefore you haven't believed in him.

47
00:02:42,866 --> 00:02:45,950
And it's a relatively tight case, I think.

48
00:02:45,950 --> 00:02:51,750
Michael, though
it, as John is sometimes prone to do it.

49
00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:54,750
It circles a little bit.

50
00:02:54,750 --> 00:02:55,016
Yeah.

51
00:02:55,016 --> 00:02:58,200
Well, because there's an intended audience

52
00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:01,966
and I think it's easy for us to miss this
as we're going through a book like this.

53
00:03:01,966 --> 00:03:04,350
Because now the way that we do
these studies, we,

54
00:03:04,350 --> 00:03:07,916
we break it down into smaller segments
and we try to spend some time

55
00:03:07,916 --> 00:03:08,633
with each segment.

56
00:03:08,633 --> 00:03:12,600
And what that does really well is it
helps us get into it, give a sense for

57
00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:16,366
what's underneath the current and hear
a little bit of those deeper themes.

58
00:03:16,366 --> 00:03:18,383
But let let's get really clear here.

59
00:03:18,383 --> 00:03:23,550
It is not too far before I'm looking at
chapter five, verse 18 here. The.

60
00:03:23,550 --> 00:03:24,750
For this reason,

61
00:03:24,750 --> 00:03:27,166
the Jews were still seeking
all the more to kill him,

62
00:03:27,166 --> 00:03:29,216
because not only was he
breaking the Sabbath,

63
00:03:29,216 --> 00:03:33,083
but he was calling God his own father,
thereby making himself equal to God.

64
00:03:33,083 --> 00:03:36,533
Okay, so here Jesus does this healing.

65
00:03:36,533 --> 00:03:38,216
There's this invective against the Jews.

66
00:03:38,216 --> 00:03:40,166
Things are getting heated at this point.

67
00:03:40,166 --> 00:03:43,500
Now. We had this talk about the authority
of the Son of God.

68
00:03:44,033 --> 00:03:46,616
The hour is coming. Now here we are.

69
00:03:46,616 --> 00:03:49,583
We're verse 30, this witness,

70
00:03:49,583 --> 00:03:52,616
this that's
who is the authority who speaks to who.

71
00:03:53,150 --> 00:03:55,666
This is going to make even more sense
when we turn here

72
00:03:55,666 --> 00:03:57,866
in just a moment
to the last part of this text.

73
00:03:57,866 --> 00:04:03,150
But, but say, suffice it to say, up
to this point, what you need to know

74
00:04:03,350 --> 00:04:07,100
is Jesus is making a strong, strong case

75
00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:10,666
as to why some see him for who he is

76
00:04:11,483 --> 00:04:15,950
and why others, with the revelation of God
standing in front of them,

77
00:04:15,950 --> 00:04:21,350
are unable to hear God's voice
and are unable to see God's plan,

78
00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:24,816
that it is completely obfuscated for them,

79
00:04:24,833 --> 00:04:28,100
that they just do not understand
what God is doing.

80
00:04:28,100 --> 00:04:28,583
And Clint,

81
00:04:29,566 --> 00:04:32,416
this whole
talk about John, who is the messenger,

82
00:04:32,416 --> 00:04:37,883
this whole talk about human testimony,
all of this is, is helping us lay

83
00:04:37,883 --> 00:04:42,950
a framework of understanding for the fact
that some people are given occasion

84
00:04:42,950 --> 00:04:46,100
to know the revelation of Christ,
and they don't see it.

85
00:04:46,500 --> 00:04:51,083
And what John is doing for us
is chronicling in Jesus's own teaching

86
00:04:51,233 --> 00:04:55,166
that we shouldn't be surprised
when that happens, that some will see

87
00:04:55,166 --> 00:04:57,533
and understand and others will not.

88
00:04:57,533 --> 00:05:02,450
And especially when you remember that here
Jesus is talking in the

89
00:05:02,450 --> 00:05:06,533
company of people who have seen a miracle,
they've seen a sign.

90
00:05:06,533 --> 00:05:09,200
They've seen the thing that should testify
to who Jesus is.

91
00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:10,966
They don't understand it.

92
00:05:10,966 --> 00:05:13,966
And Jesus is offering a kind of way

93
00:05:13,966 --> 00:05:17,066
for us to, to to conceive

94
00:05:17,066 --> 00:05:21,150
of how these different response
has come from the same revelation.

95
00:05:21,383 --> 00:05:21,650
Yeah.

96
00:05:21,650 --> 00:05:27,350
I think that John obsessed is too strong
a word, Michael, but I think that John is

97
00:05:28,950 --> 00:05:32,000
extremely focused on

98
00:05:32,866 --> 00:05:38,450
the idea that those who should see who
Jesus is, right?

99
00:05:38,450 --> 00:05:42,416
The religious people,
those who search the scriptures, those

100
00:05:42,416 --> 00:05:46,400
who are Pharisees, those who have standing
in the religious community, those

101
00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:50,250
who pride themselves
on their knowledge of Judaism

102
00:05:50,250 --> 00:05:54,316
and on their awareness of God,
are the very ones

103
00:05:54,316 --> 00:05:58,666
who myths over and over and over again
and the way John tells

104
00:05:58,666 --> 00:06:03,166
the story is influenced
by that, assumption

105
00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:06,950
that Jesus does these things
that make it obvious

106
00:06:07,350 --> 00:06:12,566
who he is, that are clear signs,
and yet the blindness

107
00:06:12,566 --> 00:06:16,366
of those who don't see
that is in it's chosen by them.

108
00:06:16,366 --> 00:06:17,866
They refuse.

109
00:06:17,866 --> 00:06:19,550
They have hardened hearts.

110
00:06:19,550 --> 00:06:23,666
And because John is also

111
00:06:23,666 --> 00:06:27,550
so outspoken on the

112
00:06:28,550 --> 00:06:33,766
unity of God and Christ,
they not only miss Jesus,

113
00:06:33,766 --> 00:06:38,566
but by definition, then
in Jesus criticism, they're missing God.

114
00:06:38,566 --> 00:06:40,316
They're missing what God is doing.

115
00:06:40,316 --> 00:06:44,716
And so I, I always think,
I mean, this is true in all the Gospels,

116
00:06:45,900 --> 00:06:47,550
but I don't know if it's a strong

117
00:06:47,550 --> 00:06:50,633
if it's if it is presented anywhere

118
00:06:51,650 --> 00:06:54,166
more strongly than John does.

119
00:06:54,166 --> 00:06:59,666
And I think it always gives pause
to people who live in the faith

120
00:06:59,666 --> 00:07:03,900
tradition, who live in a church,
who are comfortable with religion.

121
00:07:04,966 --> 00:07:08,250
And certainly that's not everyone,
but those of us who are.

122
00:07:08,916 --> 00:07:12,650
I think we should never get
too comfortable

123
00:07:13,583 --> 00:07:17,300
with the fact that Jesus fought primarily

124
00:07:17,850 --> 00:07:20,333
with people who were religious.

125
00:07:20,333 --> 00:07:24,533
Those were his most common and most,

126
00:07:26,550 --> 00:07:27,200
Fierce.

127
00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:30,200
Fierce, violent enemies

128
00:07:30,300 --> 00:07:34,766
is the people who were sure
they had God figured out and

129
00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:39,350
and therefore they missed this
obvious thing happening in front of them.

130
00:07:39,350 --> 00:07:43,366
And I, I've always
I've always been struck by the irony

131
00:07:43,366 --> 00:07:46,366
that the people Jesus

132
00:07:47,216 --> 00:07:49,650
had had most problems with

133
00:07:51,083 --> 00:07:52,316
our our people.

134
00:07:52,316 --> 00:07:55,200
It's inside the circle,
not outside the circle.

135
00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:58,133
And I think, you know,
that is a humbling caution.

136
00:07:58,133 --> 00:08:00,200
I think as we come to the faith into the.

137
00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:04,316
Story, another thing to not forget
is that faith is built into this equation.

138
00:08:04,650 --> 00:08:09,416
And and we see that here, not in explicit
terms, but it's living behind the scenes.

139
00:08:09,416 --> 00:08:12,866
In verse 37, it's the father who sent me,

140
00:08:12,916 --> 00:08:16,616
who has himself testified on my behalf.

141
00:08:16,700 --> 00:08:19,133
You've not heard his voice
or seen this form,

142
00:08:19,133 --> 00:08:23,150
and you don't have this word abiding in
you because you don't believe him.

143
00:08:23,700 --> 00:08:25,466
He has sent you that.

144
00:08:25,466 --> 00:08:29,866
This is clear language
which should shock us.

145
00:08:29,866 --> 00:08:30,916
I think the danger of

146
00:08:30,916 --> 00:08:32,100
being within the circle,

147
00:08:32,100 --> 00:08:35,116
as you say, is we read words like this
from a lens of faith.

148
00:08:35,266 --> 00:08:39,233
But what Jesus is saying
is the way that you know that I'm

149
00:08:39,233 --> 00:08:43,950
the Son of God is that
the father has testified on my behalf.

150
00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:46,166
Well, if you don't believe Jesus,

151
00:08:46,166 --> 00:08:49,733
then you're not going to believe what he's
saying about what the father testifies.

152
00:08:49,733 --> 00:08:55,400
If you don't see Jesus, as a light,
then you're never going to see the light

153
00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:58,516
that's behind
Jesus illuminating in and through him.

154
00:08:58,516 --> 00:09:03,350
So this is the amazing moment that is
being portrayed for us here in John,

155
00:09:03,350 --> 00:09:08,400
a kind of revelation that can only be seen
if you're willing to see it.

156
00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:11,566
And if you're not willing to see it,
then all of this is rubbish.

157
00:09:11,566 --> 00:09:12,766
None of this makes sense.

158
00:09:12,766 --> 00:09:16,666
It is just doesn't follow
the formula, doesn't work out.

159
00:09:16,916 --> 00:09:19,950
But if you see it
through the lens of testimony

160
00:09:19,950 --> 00:09:24,200
that Jesus is offering,
if you're willing to apply eyes of faith.

161
00:09:24,500 --> 00:09:29,216
Now, suddenly this begins to turn
from some strange fairy tale

162
00:09:29,450 --> 00:09:33,000
into an amazingly deep
and complex and life giving

163
00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:35,066
way to see God's work in the world.

164
00:09:35,066 --> 00:09:36,800
That that's really what's at stake here.

165
00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:38,966
And I think as people of faith,
we miss that

166
00:09:38,966 --> 00:09:41,033
because we do live in the circle. Yeah.

167
00:09:41,033 --> 00:09:43,550
And to paraphrase a kind of quote,

168
00:09:43,550 --> 00:09:47,416
I mean, nobody is more blind
than the one who thinks they see.

169
00:09:47,416 --> 00:09:51,166
And that describes here
these Jewish leaders.

170
00:09:51,166 --> 00:09:52,766
So, let's press on.

171
00:09:52,766 --> 00:09:56,400
Let's knock out the rest of this passage,
the rest of this chapter.

172
00:09:57,016 --> 00:09:58,316
Again, we'll circle back to it.

173
00:09:58,316 --> 00:10:02,550
But verse 39, you search the scriptures
because you think in them

174
00:10:02,550 --> 00:10:03,916
you have eternal life.

175
00:10:03,916 --> 00:10:06,900
And it is they that testify on my behalf.

176
00:10:06,900 --> 00:10:09,900
Yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

177
00:10:10,133 --> 00:10:12,900
I do not accept glory from human beings,

178
00:10:12,900 --> 00:10:16,166
but I know that you do not have
the love of God in you.

179
00:10:16,550 --> 00:10:19,666
I have come in my father's name,
and you do not accept me.

180
00:10:19,666 --> 00:10:22,666
If another comes in his own name,
you accept him.

181
00:10:22,916 --> 00:10:26,033
How can you believe
when you accept glory from one another

182
00:10:26,333 --> 00:10:30,050
and do not seek the glory
that comes from the one who alone is God.

183
00:10:30,533 --> 00:10:34,283
Do not think that I will accuse you
before the father.

184
00:10:34,583 --> 00:10:37,816
Your accuser is Moses,
on whom you have set your hope.

185
00:10:38,183 --> 00:10:42,683
If you believed Moses, you would
believe me, for he wrote about me.

186
00:10:43,050 --> 00:10:47,750
But if you do not believe what he wrote,
how will you believe what I say?

187
00:10:48,416 --> 00:10:51,800
I think of passages like this, Michael,
we'll get into some of the meanings,

188
00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:54,616
but it's interesting
if you read this carefully,

189
00:10:56,183 --> 00:10:59,183
and I think you alluded to this
a week or so ago,

190
00:10:59,250 --> 00:11:04,433
you realize how deeply indebted Christian
theology is to the Gospel of John.

191
00:11:04,833 --> 00:11:08,216
Again, when Jesus is saying things here

192
00:11:08,783 --> 00:11:12,866
that are not said this way
in the other gospels.

193
00:11:13,250 --> 00:11:15,650
In the other gospels, Jesus

194
00:11:15,650 --> 00:11:18,766
sort of dances around the question,
are you the Messiah?

195
00:11:18,766 --> 00:11:22,433
And it seems as though the gospel authors
want the reader

196
00:11:22,616 --> 00:11:25,700
to have to come
and answer that question for themselves.

197
00:11:26,366 --> 00:11:28,883
But listen to the who.

198
00:11:28,883 --> 00:11:33,983
How come you don't accept the glory
of the one who alone is God?

199
00:11:34,433 --> 00:11:36,300
I'm not accusing you, Moses.

200
00:11:36,300 --> 00:11:37,966
Moses wrote about me.

201
00:11:37,966 --> 00:11:41,250
This is very high affirmation

202
00:11:41,816 --> 00:11:45,050
of what will become doctrines about Jesus.

203
00:11:45,050 --> 00:11:49,650
And you realize how constant and strong

204
00:11:49,650 --> 00:11:53,150
those are present strongly
those are presented in John.

205
00:11:53,150 --> 00:11:54,566
I think that I had

206
00:11:55,733 --> 00:11:57,983
I have
maybe not been through John in a while.

207
00:11:57,983 --> 00:11:59,266
And so that's a fresh reminder.

208
00:11:59,266 --> 00:12:02,633
John, is he he's not holding anything back
here.

209
00:12:02,633 --> 00:12:06,016
This is straight on Christian theology.

210
00:12:06,416 --> 00:12:08,666
And there's a lot of it.

211
00:12:08,666 --> 00:12:10,400
It's robust.

212
00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:13,616
And that comes in
lots of different reasons.

213
00:12:13,616 --> 00:12:17,366
And scholars are going to talk about,
you know, that it's likely that this book

214
00:12:17,366 --> 00:12:21,600
was either written in or received
in Ephesus that spent a lot of time

215
00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:25,966
in that particular church,
which was a highly theological place.

216
00:12:25,966 --> 00:12:26,333
John.

217
00:12:26,333 --> 00:12:29,366
Of course, has a lot of theological chops,
as we see

218
00:12:29,366 --> 00:12:32,566
in other books,
associated with John in the New Testament.

219
00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:36,983
But let's not get into the weeds here,
which I'm sometimes often to do.

220
00:12:36,983 --> 00:12:42,383
I think what we should do
is recognize that the basic argument

221
00:12:42,383 --> 00:12:47,033
that Jesus is making here, which is to
Clint's point, a theological argument,

222
00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:51,833
is that if the Jews who are the keepers
of the Old Testament scriptures

223
00:12:51,833 --> 00:12:55,200
we call the Old Testament, it would have
been to them their scriptures, right?

224
00:12:55,433 --> 00:12:59,150
Because there is no New Testament
at the time that Jesus is teaching this.

225
00:12:59,333 --> 00:13:03,050
So when he says that
you search the scriptures

226
00:13:03,616 --> 00:13:05,116
because you think that in them

227
00:13:05,116 --> 00:13:08,400
you have the eternal life,
when you look to Moses to be the prophet,

228
00:13:08,900 --> 00:13:12,466
then what you're doing is
you should be preparing your hearts.

229
00:13:12,466 --> 00:13:18,050
You should be preparing the soil
of your soul for the revelation of God.

230
00:13:18,266 --> 00:13:22,216
And yet the argument drops here
when he says,

231
00:13:22,216 --> 00:13:26,483
but if you do not believe
the very words that the prophet wrote,

232
00:13:27,450 --> 00:13:30,166
how will you believe what I say?

233
00:13:30,166 --> 00:13:34,700
I might claim that's a mic drop
that that is in this argument,

234
00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:37,800
Jesus essentially closing the door

235
00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:42,800
with a robust theological frame
rooted entirely on the fact

236
00:13:43,016 --> 00:13:46,466
that his revelation
is not rooted to ideas.

237
00:13:46,733 --> 00:13:50,100
It's not, rooted into written words.

238
00:13:50,266 --> 00:13:55,583
It's rather completely embedded
in the reality of who he is.

239
00:13:55,766 --> 00:13:59,850
And so if he therefore is the Son of God,

240
00:13:59,850 --> 00:14:02,900
which in the Gospel of John,
you've already made the point, I think.

241
00:14:02,900 --> 00:14:07,000
Very well, there's zero doubt
that Jesus is the Son of God,

242
00:14:07,016 --> 00:14:10,950
the the revelation
that human revelation of God, that if

243
00:14:11,250 --> 00:14:15,683
if he is that,
then all of these things point to him.

244
00:14:15,683 --> 00:14:20,300
And if he is not
that, then there is really no

245
00:14:21,566 --> 00:14:22,733
other way.

246
00:14:22,733 --> 00:14:25,800
In this gospel you either see Jesus
for who he is,

247
00:14:25,966 --> 00:14:30,166
or you see a crazy person,
or you see a false teacher.

248
00:14:30,166 --> 00:14:34,100
I mean, there's just
John makes it abundantly clear

249
00:14:34,100 --> 00:14:37,816
what Jesus claims to be
because of who he claims he is.

250
00:14:38,100 --> 00:14:41,216
And if if you cannot see that, then John's

251
00:14:41,216 --> 00:14:45,416
going to help us get some frame for
what's behind the scenes.

252
00:14:45,766 --> 00:14:48,233
Yeah. And,

253
00:14:48,233 --> 00:14:52,433
you know, again, it's clear here
that John is

254
00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:56,483
letting us listen in on a conversation
between Jesus

255
00:14:56,483 --> 00:15:00,866
and Jewish religious people,
his primary adversaries.

256
00:15:01,850 --> 00:15:04,616
But as we read it

257
00:15:04,616 --> 00:15:07,616
for ourselves, as we think devotional,

258
00:15:08,333 --> 00:15:11,150
there's a
there's a powerful challenge here.

259
00:15:11,150 --> 00:15:15,650
The the idea that these people
take the Scripture seriously,

260
00:15:16,166 --> 00:15:19,166
that they come looking for truth.

261
00:15:19,500 --> 00:15:23,900
And yet when truth stands
right in front of them, they miss it.

262
00:15:23,900 --> 00:15:28,916
And I think that is a humbling challenge
to all of us who may know the Scripture,

263
00:15:29,366 --> 00:15:32,366
who who may be comfortable with the faith,

264
00:15:32,450 --> 00:15:35,150
who may occupy the circle of religion,

265
00:15:36,150 --> 00:15:39,050
but do we

266
00:15:39,050 --> 00:15:41,216
humble ourselves in such a way?

267
00:15:41,216 --> 00:15:44,216
And do we present ourselves in such a way

268
00:15:44,550 --> 00:15:47,550
that when Jesus appears to us,

269
00:15:47,633 --> 00:15:50,566
when we see something of truth,

270
00:15:50,566 --> 00:15:53,150
we recognize it?

271
00:15:53,150 --> 00:15:56,150
Again, I think that it is.

272
00:15:56,900 --> 00:15:59,900
It's cautionary. Here

273
00:15:59,900 --> 00:16:02,900
that the the very ones

274
00:16:03,266 --> 00:16:06,300
who are most adamant that they know
the truth

275
00:16:07,050 --> 00:16:10,550
are the farthest,
the furthest from it, and

276
00:16:12,083 --> 00:16:16,700
that should give us all pause
when we reflect on how confident

277
00:16:16,700 --> 00:16:20,933
we might be in our own abilities
and our own righteousness.

278
00:16:20,933 --> 00:16:24,500
Because historically,
certainly in the context of the gospel,

279
00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:28,766
those who have trusted their own
righteousness have missed

280
00:16:29,183 --> 00:16:33,200
the righteousness of God in this case,
literally standing before them.

281
00:16:33,383 --> 00:16:36,833
That don't miss the words here
that we have in verse 36

282
00:16:37,166 --> 00:16:41,066
that are the works that the father
has given me to complete the very works

283
00:16:41,066 --> 00:16:45,316
I'm doing, testify on my behalf
that the father sent me clean.

284
00:16:45,500 --> 00:16:49,550
Jesus doesn't just say, have faith in me,
full stop.

285
00:16:49,550 --> 00:16:51,116
Jesus in John.

286
00:16:51,116 --> 00:16:53,266
Now how many times are we?
Have we seen that?

287
00:16:53,266 --> 00:16:57,616
Are we going to see where his miraculous
signs are pointing towards?

288
00:16:57,616 --> 00:17:01,700
There's signs of who
Jesus is and Jesus is the full picture.

289
00:17:01,700 --> 00:17:02,966
He's the full package.

290
00:17:02,966 --> 00:17:05,366
He shows us what is true

291
00:17:05,366 --> 00:17:08,366
and what is the thing
that Jesus consistently shows us.

292
00:17:08,416 --> 00:17:14,716
He shows us that this kingdom that he is
revealing is the upside down kingdom.

293
00:17:14,750 --> 00:17:16,550
It's the people who are lost.

294
00:17:16,550 --> 00:17:17,933
It's the people who are least.

295
00:17:17,933 --> 00:17:22,466
It's the people who are outside
of societal

296
00:17:23,066 --> 00:17:27,150
norms and power that these things
that we get accustomed to in our lives.

297
00:17:27,450 --> 00:17:30,566
Jesus consistently
turns them on, on their head.

298
00:17:30,566 --> 00:17:35,550
And so ultimately, what we've come
to learn about Jesus, I think, is that

299
00:17:36,716 --> 00:17:37,650
though we

300
00:17:37,650 --> 00:17:40,800
as people of faith today,
we know Scripture.

301
00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:44,600
We're seeking to to know it more,
not just as an idea,

302
00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:47,400
but for that to live in us
as a part of our lived experience.

303
00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:51,166
That the task then, is to orient

304
00:17:51,166 --> 00:17:56,216
ourselves towards how those scriptures
make us to be more like Jesus,

305
00:17:56,216 --> 00:18:01,433
so that our actions might be paired with
the very kinds of actions that Jesus had.

306
00:18:01,433 --> 00:18:04,083
Not that there are signs there.

307
00:18:04,083 --> 00:18:05,783
They're always the work of the spirit.

308
00:18:05,783 --> 00:18:06,566
And that's but friends,

309
00:18:06,566 --> 00:18:10,950
in the moments where we see divergence
between the Jesus who proclaimed

310
00:18:10,950 --> 00:18:14,783
hope for the hopeless, Jesus
who proclaimed liberty for the captive,

311
00:18:14,783 --> 00:18:18,383
Jesus who proclaimed being found
for those who were lost.

312
00:18:18,533 --> 00:18:23,400
When we find ourselves tempted to say
or to think down other paths,

313
00:18:23,866 --> 00:18:27,466
we're now straying from the revelation
that John is trying just to show here

314
00:18:27,566 --> 00:18:31,700
that this is a person, that
the revelation of Christ is God embodied.

315
00:18:32,033 --> 00:18:35,666
And so therefore, any way that we live out
our faith should,

316
00:18:35,850 --> 00:18:40,050
should embody that in in our limited,
human, fragile ways.

317
00:18:40,050 --> 00:18:43,733
We should embody that same so that others
might see that testimony in us.

318
00:18:44,116 --> 00:18:47,416
And I also think it's worth
noting that the harshest criticism

319
00:18:48,466 --> 00:18:51,600
that Jesus gives of these people,
these men,

320
00:18:52,766 --> 00:18:55,883
and the most significant thing

321
00:18:55,883 --> 00:19:00,416
they lack, is what Jesus calls
the love of God.

322
00:19:01,066 --> 00:19:05,266
You do not have the love of God in you.

323
00:19:05,666 --> 00:19:08,850
Now, I, I don't think we should read

324
00:19:08,850 --> 00:19:11,966
that to mean that God doesn't love them.

325
00:19:11,966 --> 00:19:15,450
In other words, they somehow stand outside
of God's love that

326
00:19:15,450 --> 00:19:18,450
that's not in keeping with this gospel.

327
00:19:18,450 --> 00:19:21,916
You read first or second or third John,
and you will see that

328
00:19:21,916 --> 00:19:26,566
John loves the word love,
that it's his go to concept.

329
00:19:26,966 --> 00:19:30,316
I think instead here Jesus is saying

330
00:19:30,416 --> 00:19:34,350
that your hearts are closed
not only to me but to others.

331
00:19:34,350 --> 00:19:36,566
The man who was healed on the Sabbath.

332
00:19:36,566 --> 00:19:39,166
You care more about the rule than you do
the man.

333
00:19:39,166 --> 00:19:42,166
We're going to see other examples of that,

334
00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:45,650
but it is telling that as Jesus critiques

335
00:19:45,650 --> 00:19:49,100
these men's life and their stubborn
refusal to see the truth,

336
00:19:49,650 --> 00:19:54,616
the thing that he most notices in them
or calls out in them,

337
00:19:55,016 --> 00:19:58,166
is that they lack the love of God.

338
00:19:58,516 --> 00:20:03,750
And again, I think that is a sober

339
00:20:04,016 --> 00:20:06,766
warning to the rest of us.

340
00:20:06,766 --> 00:20:10,816
Is our faith characterized
by the kind of love

341
00:20:10,816 --> 00:20:13,816
we see through Christ from God?

342
00:20:14,266 --> 00:20:17,366
Is our life and our faith, defined

343
00:20:17,366 --> 00:20:21,950
by the kind of sacrificial love
that we see in Christ?

344
00:20:22,283 --> 00:20:27,016
These men missed that,
and Jesus missed it in them.

345
00:20:27,316 --> 00:20:30,316
And I think that's a good call
to the rest of us.

346
00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:32,866
I think that'll be our last word
for today.

347
00:20:32,866 --> 00:20:36,383
Hopefully that word is encouraging,
maybe even challenging for you.

348
00:20:36,383 --> 00:20:39,800
If so, give it a like helps others
find this study in their own way

349
00:20:40,133 --> 00:20:43,216
as they study the book of John later on
and certainly subscribe.

350
00:20:43,216 --> 00:20:47,300
So you can stay with us as we continue
on breaking into chapter six tomorrow.

351
00:20:47,416 --> 00:20:48,066
Thanks, everybody.