The year was 1200.  The Roman Emperor Frederick II believed humanity was born with a language at birth, and that language must be either Hebrew, Greek, or Latin.  Frederick was just not sure which language our birth language was.  So, Emperor Frederick ordered several newborn babies to be hidden away immediately after birth.  He gave them shelter and assigned women to feed the children, clean them, and bathe them.  However, the emperor ordered that the women not make any sounds or gestures of any kind in the presence of the babies.  The emperor believed that by doing so, the babies would grow and speak the language instilled at birth.  Does anyone know what language the babies came to speak?  It was not Hebrew, Greek, Latin, or any other language at all because every baby died.  They did not die due to lack of food, shelter, clothing, or bodily care.  They died because they had no hope.  They died from a condition sometimes called “failure to thrive.”  The experiment showed we are not just a walking stomach, an object to be talked about, an article to be handled, or an entity to be sheltered.  We require hope to live.  Without hope, there is no life.  The foundation of hope for Christians is Christ Jesus. 

How, then, do we thrive as Christians? This question is at the heart of Apostle John’s first letter. I want us to look at John’s letter from the context of thriving as Christians.

John’s first letter was written to an early church in crisis.  The church had experienced persecution from the Jews and then the Romans.  That persecution began in Jerusalem and resulted in the stoning of a man named Stephen.  The persecution resulted in the death of John’s brother James by an executioner’s sword.  The Book of Acts chronicles the beatings that Paul experienced due to persecution. Whether known to John or not, by the time he wrote this letter, he was the lone surviving apostle of Jesus Christ. All the others had been killed due to persecution.  The church was no stranger to persecution.  Despite the persecution, or perhaps as some believe, because of the persecution, the church grew.

What was the heresy?  Then, in addition to persecution, the church faced a new crisis called heresy. We don’t use the word "heresy" very often anymore. Heresy is a religious belief that differs from the accepted set of beliefs.  Persecution comes from outside the church seeking to shrink it.  Heresy comes from within the church seeking to divide it.  The early church faced both.  John’s letter dealt with those within the church seeking to divide it with heresy.

Within the church, an idea began to form and spread. The idea was that Jesus was the Son of God, Jesus was divine, but that Jesus was never human and, therefore, Jesus never died.  There was no virgin birth.  The person called Jesus only appeared to be human but was not human at all.  Jesus did not go to the cross; someone else died on the cross in Jesus’ place, with the leading candidate for that role going to Simon of Cyrene, who the gospels said at one point was made to carry Jesus’ cross.  The blood of Simon, or perhaps someone else, was shed on the cross, but not Jesus's blood. This idea was born because people could not accept that God would die for his people.  The technical term for this heresy is Docetism and the heresy was tearing at the foundation of the early Christian church.

Knowing this bit of history, we turn to 1 John 1. John wrote, “1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete” (1 John 1:1-4).  John’s opening words did three things.  First, the words made clear that Christ taught He had two natures: the Son of God and the Son of Man.  Second, the apostles uniformly testified to the truth of Jesus’ dual nature. Third, accepting the truth about Christ brought people into fellowship with God and other believers.

John began by stating Jesus' dual nature was as the Son of God and the Son of Man: “That which was from the beginning” (1 John 1:1a), called Jesus “the Word of Life” (1 John 1b), and was He “with the Father” (1 John 1:2b).  These words are strikingly like the opening words of John’s Gospel, “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning” (John 1:1-2). John emphasized the divine nature of Jesus as being with God and as God in the beginning.  The church and the heretics accepted the divine nature of Jesus. 

But John then said of this same Jesus, “which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched” (1 John 1:1), “we have seen and heard” (1 John 1:5), and we are purified by “the blood of Jesus” (1 John 1:7b).  John was describing human physical traits and human senses by which John and others observed firsthand that Jesus was, in fact, human.  Moreover, this divine Jesus and human Jesus was the one who bled upon the cross for the forgiveness of sins.  Jesus was divine and human, and John knew it.

Secondly, John said that he and other apostles “proclaim” (1 John 1:1, 3) and “write” (1 John 1:4) these truths about Jesus without hesitation or reservation.  There was no division among the apostles, and each proclaimed, wrote, and testified about Jesus, knowing full well that doing so made them targets for persecution.  As I mentioned a few minutes ago, John was the only member of Jesus’ inner circle who had not been executed for making such claims.

Lastly, John said he spoke the truth to bring fellowship to others. John desired others to fellowship with him because John’s fellowship was with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3).  Fellowship is a deep sense of togetherness among people who have a shared set of binding yet loving convictions. Let me illustrate a moment from my life from this past weekend. I spent time with many of my first cousins as we celebrated my sister’s and my brother-in-law's lives. While it was nice to get reacquainted with some cousins I had not seen in decades, there was still a distance that could be closed with those who are atheist.  In the Book of Amos, we would read, “3 Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?” (Amos 3:3).  Clearly, the answer is no.  Two will not walk together unless they agree to do so.  When I spoke at the memorial service about the hope believers have in Christ, it was clear that my cousins who are atheists were not walking with me. Thus, while we had friendly conversations, we did not have fellowship because, as John said, our fellowship is with God and his Son Jesus Christ.  That is not true of atheists.  John was laying the foundation that those who had been in the church but now denied the person of Jesus had broken fellowship not just with other believers but with God and his Son Jesus Christ.

            John addressed the divided situation within the church in a pastoral manner, seeking to clarify his authority, the risk he was willing to take to proclaim the truth, and the substance of the truth so that the church's people would thrive. John then gave them the message again, emphasizing the risk heretics faced in denying the truth about Christ.

            John wrote, “5 This is the message we have heard from him [Jesus] and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). The point here is quite sharp and absolute.  People will be found either in the light of Christ or in the darkness of evil.  You are either in fellowship with Jesus or you are not.  There is no gray area.  People who fellowship with Jesus thrive in a Godly sense and have eternal life with God. Those who are not in fellowship with Jesus do not thrive and will have eternal separation from God.

            John made this point even sharper.  “6 If we claim to have fellowship with him [Jesus] and yet walk in the darkness [deny his nature], we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:6-7).  If you claim you follow the teachings of Christ but you deny truths about him, John says you are a liar to claim fellowship with Jesus because you are not in fellowship with Jesus.  In John’s context, people claimed the divinity of Christ, denied the human nature of Christ, and yet still claimed to be in fellowship with Christ.  John said you cannot deny the blood of Jesus that bought you salvation and say you are in fellowship with that same Jesus.

            Finally, John said, “8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:9).  Perhaps, John specifically had in mind here that if those who deny the humanity of Christ believed they had not sinned, then they need to think again. Saying untrue things about Jesus, all the while claiming to be a Christian, is a sin.  It is an affront to God.  But John gave some good news here, “9 If we confess our sins, he [Jesus] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).  We can be in fellowship with Christ through confession of our sins to Him. If we have made a mistake, Jesus, and only Jesus, can fix it for us.  That is the good news of the gospel of Jesus.

            This is such an important point that John did not want anyone to miss it, so he repeated it, “10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.  1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He [Jesus] is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 1:10, 2:1-2).  John wanted to preserve the fellowship of believers and invite new people to join, as well as those who had been led astray, to come back into fellowship with Jesus.  John wanted people to have hope and to thrive as Christians.

            John began his first letter to combat a heresy within the church while the church separately experienced persecution.  The church universal continues to experience persecution.  In the United States, there is a persistent but low level of persecution. We are fortunate that the government is prohibited from engaging in persecution by the Bill of Rights of the Constitution.  However, the church, particularly in the United States, faces many heresies that have divided the churches, leaving many in darkness.  One of the major heresies of today’s American churches is the opposite of Docetism, called Arianism.  Arianism is the belief that Jesus was human but was not divine.  It is the mirror image of Docetism that John wrote about. A survey done in 2015 showed that 44% of all Americans believed that Jesus was only human and was not or likely not divine.  Many of these people regularly attend churches.  This is a belief of the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Progressive Christian movement, and the United Universalists, and increasingly, it is the view of some churches of mainline denominations.  The Word of God tells them all these people are not in fellowship with God and his Son, Jesus Christ.  These groups will not thrive, do not possess hope, and end in darkness.

            To thrive as Christians, we must know what believing in Christ means.  At the highest level, there are five things I would like us to test ourselves on today about our own beliefs.  To thrive as a Christian, you and I need to:

1. Belief in one God, existing as three persons—Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit—equal in essence, distinct in role (Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14).
2. Jesus is entirely God and fully man, born of the Virgin Mary, who lived a sinless life, died for humanity’s sins, and rose bodily from the dead (John 1:1, 14; Philippians 2:5-11).
3. Salvation is a gift from God, received through faith in Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, not earned by works (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:1).
4. The Bible is divinely inspired, authoritative, and sufficient for faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
5. Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead, and believers will be resurrected to eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:20-23, Revelation 22:12).

You can certainly add more to this list and make it better. However, these five beliefs seem essential to agreeing with Jesus and fellowshipping with Him. These beliefs will keep you on the same road with Him, moving toward the same destination. These beliefs allow us to fellowship through the joys we share and the trials of life.  If you struggle with any of these beliefs, we should talk and see whether it is a matter of how I expressed something or that your struggle runs deeper.  As John said, knowing the truth and believing in it is shared so that we can have fellowship with the Father, his Son, Jesus Christ, and each other.  When we can do that, then our joy will be complete.  Amen and Amen.

The Jewish ruling authorities complained to Jesus.  They asked Him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”  Jesus told them plainly with his miraculous healings that He was the Messiah.  Jesus told them plainly He was the Messiah when He raised Lazarus from the dead.  Today, Jesus removed all suspense and any doubt that He was the Messiah in the way He entered a place called Jerusalem.

Jesus began this day in Bethany, likely at the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus.  The village lies on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, a short distance from Jerusalem.  The fragrance of pure nard, a perfume, was still upon Jesus’ body, a reminder to those closest to Him that He had been anointed for burial.  Today, Jesus would journey to the Temple in Jerusalem. Jesus had been to the Temple many times. Jesus was in the Temple as a newborn baby, a young child, and as an adult.  At the Temple, Jesus engaged scholars in deep theological discussions, healed people, and taught the people the sweet truths about God.  But never once was Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem and the Temple described for us.  The Scripture just said, “In the temple courts,” Jesus did something or taught something.  Today would be very different.  Today, all four gospel writers offered detailed descriptions of Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem.  They used over 1,100 words to describe Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem.  They used about half as many words to describe Jesus’ miraculous birth.  Today, everything was about the manner and reason Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem to go to the Temple.  Jesus’s manner of entering said just one thing: “Your Messiah has come.”

Mashiach (ma’-she-ack).  Messiah.  The Messianic Era would usher in a Jewish leader, "the anointed one", a righteous man from the bloodline of King David.  The Jews believed the Messiah would rebuild the Temple, gather the Jewish people from all corners of the earth, and return them to the Promised Land.  The Messiah, it was thought, would be a political leader who would deliver the Jewish people from the Romans by military force.  The idea that God’s Messiah would redeem the souls of humanity was not something widely believed.  When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the Jewish people had been without a king for about 25 years.  Instead of a king, the Romans appointed a governor, Pontius Pilate, who was in Jerusalem with his Roman soldiers to keep the peace during the Jewish festival. The most significant Jewish leader then was the high priest, Josef bar Caiaphas, the wealthy son-in-law of the former high priest, Annas.  Caiaphas lived luxuriously in Jerusalem, and he had vowed to kill Jesus to keep everything the same.  Into this setting of high expectations by the people for a Messiah, the vow of the high priest to kill Jesus, and the desire of the Roman governor to keep things free of turmoil, Jesus, anointed for burial, decided the time was perfect for him to make a grand entrance to Jerusalem.  Jesus’ hour had come.

The tradition for Jewish people for the Passover festival was to walk into Jerusalem.  Instead of walking, Jesus sent two disciples to bring a colt, a foal of a donkey, for him to ride into Jerusalem.  Jesus’ use of a colt that no one had ridden before echoed the prophesies of Zechariah, who said, “9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9).  Zechariah’s prophecy foretold that one who entered the city of Jerusalem on a donkey was Israel’s king chosen by God.  Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem on the day all others walked made Jesus’ claim unmistakable, “Your King, Your Messiah, has come!”  Riding in this manner was also the way Solomon entered Jerusalem for his coronation as king.

The people saw the imagery created by Jesus.  John wrote, “12 The great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, 'Hosanna!’ ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’  ‘Blessed is the king of Israel!’”  (John 12:12-13).  Hosanna is a plea to God to save us.  Palms were waved and cloaks thrown on the road before Jesus to give honor to their king. The people were ready.  At long last, their king had arrived.

John wrote, “17 Now the crowd that was with him [Jesus] when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him [Lazarus] from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he [Jesus] had performed this sign, went out to meet him [Jesus]” (John 12:17-18).  The excitement of the crowd had never been higher.  Those from Jerusalem and those in Jerusalem on pilgrimage were overjoyed. The religious leaders saw Jesus’ arrival and the swelling crowds of cheering people.  John wrote, “19 So the Pharisees [the religious leaders] said to one another, ‘See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!’” (John 12:19).  As the joy of the people rose, so too did the fear of the religious leaders. Jesus appeared unstoppable, and this “Jesus’ Movement” direction was unpredictable.  The religious leaders saw only one outcome: the Romans would come in force, casting the religious leaders aside, seizing the temple, and destroying the nation.  The religious leaders felt that time was running out and that they must act quickly and kill Jesus.

Jesus’ disciples enjoyed and participated in the joyous arrival in Jerusalem.  Yet John wrote, “16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified [killed and raised from the dead] did they [Jesus’ disciples] realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him” (John 20:16).  Jesus entry to Jerusalem riding upon a donkey was the final unmistakable claim that He was the Messiah, but not the kingly Messiah the people envisioned. Jesus was not a military warrior coming to sweep away the forces of the nations.  Jesus came to proclaim peace to those who would humbly follow Him.

• “He will proclaim peace to the nations” (Zechariah 9:10b).      “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).

Jesus came to save His people.

• “The Lord their God will save his people on that day as a shepherd saves his flock” (Zechariah 9:16)  “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17).  “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11).

Jesus came to pour out the spirit of grace.

• “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace” (Zechariah 12:10).  “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

Jesus came to do all these things, but his followers saw a king, and evil men saw Jesus' entry as an ending to their power and personal glory.

• “They will look on me, the one they have pierced” (Zechariah 12:10b).  “Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet” (Psalm 22:6).  “Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water” (John 19:34).

Jesus came to be that good shepherd, but evil men struck the shepherd to scatter the sheep.

• “Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered” (Zechariah 13:7a).  “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me” (John 16:32).

Jesus came to bring peace, salvation, and grace.  Yet Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem evoked such anger, jealousy, and inner conflict that those who had power would seize Jesus, pierce Him, and strike Him down.  Jesus came to bring peace, salvation, and grace, and the people detested him (Zechariah 11:8b).

          Jesus understood the corruption of human thoughts opposed to God.  Upon his arrival in Jerusalem, Jesus said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.  27 Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!”  (John 12:23-28).

          Jesus, still with the scent of the burial perfume nard about his body, had entered Jerusalem not triumphantly but peacefully so that He could die, fall to the ground, and glorify God.  That is why Jesus entered Jerusalem.

          Jesus entered Jerusalem not triumphantly with swords, loud clashing, or roll of stirring drums but quietly armed only with deeds of love and mercy, responding to the word “Hosanna,” “save us.”  Jesus came offering a simple message of salvation: “Lose your life to me, and I will save it for all eternity.”

          Jesus entered Jerusalem not to be served as a regal king or to be pampered and waited upon.  Instead, He came to give grace, serve others, and invite his followers to serve with Him.

          Jesus entered Jerusalem looking for and searching for just one person: you.  Jesus came looking for you to give you peace, salvation, and grace.  When we read today's Scripture about Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem, did you envision yourself there?  Were you there among his followers, waving palms and laying your coat on the road before Him?  Were you there among the city's residents calling out, “Who is this?” Were you there among the non-believers wondering what the fuss was all about?  Were you there?

          Perhaps you were not there and did not see yourself in the Scripture.  That’s all right.  Because Jesus is here today, in this very room, and He is doing the same thing He did when He entered the city of Jerusalem all those years ago.  He is looking for you, and Jesus is offering the same thing He offered when He entered Jerusalem on the way to His resurrection.  Jesus offers peace, salvation, and grace.

          Peace, shalom, is not just a phrase that Jewish people say to each other as a greeting and a parting message.  Shalom, peace, is a sense of being whole and well-being.  Shalom, peace, is an understanding that God loves you and that, despite the difficulties you may encounter or the frailness of our bodies, everything will be all right.

Fourteen years ago this week, Becky went to the hospital to visit with her dear cousin, Jean, at the hospital.  Jean was very ill.  Jean was anxious to speak with me.  I sat beside her and she said clearly, “It is going to be OK.”  The inflection of her words led me to believe she was asking a question.  I told her, “Yes, Jean, it is going to be OK.”  I have not seen many people nearing death, but I was sure that evening Jean was very near.  I believed that Jean wanted to know whether everything would be OK if she died.  After a moment, she said again, “It is going to be OK.” I told her again, “Yes, Jean, everything will be OK.”   She looked away.  Although she remained anxious in her body, I believe she was calm and reassured in her spirit.  She had peace.  At that moment, my thoughts turned to the Gospel of John Chapter 14 verses 1 through 4. Jesus was speaking to his disciples just before his arrest.  “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.  In my Father's house are many rooms.  If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”   Jesus said to the disciples and us, “Everything will be OK.”  A few hours after we left Jean, she breathed her last. Just as He promised, Jesus was there to take Jean home and everything was OK.  Jesus is looking to offer you peace.

          Jesus offers salvation, which in Hebrew is yeshu'a.  It is the word from which we get the English name, Jesus.  Yeshu'a, salvation, is being rescued or saved from the state of sin, suffering, and spiritual death.  Jesus can offer salvation because He had no sin, yet died on the cross carrying your sins.  In that exchange, Jesus took your record of sin and failure and gave you His clean record instead.  Jesus meant this when He said, “15 Everyone who believes may have eternal life in him” (John 3:15).  Jesus was that kernel of wheat that must fall and die so that many more may be produced. Jesus has His arm stretched out for you that you may be saved.

          Finally, Jesus offers grace, hesed.  Grace is what Jesus offers to protect and sustain us even when we don’t deserve it. Even when we accept Jesus' offer of salvation, we will still fall short and need grace to cover our failures. Jesus offers you hesed, grace. And all He asks in return is that you offer grace to others.  We are to provide a portion of the grace we have received to those struggling in life, whether it is their fault or due to difficult circumstances.  We are to offer a portion of the grace we have received to those who have failed us.  They need our grace as much as they need God’s grace.

          Jesus is here looking for you.  He offers peace, salvation, and grace.  If you have received him, Jesus has handed you a triumphal entry to the kingdom of God. If you have not received him before this moment, you have a choice to make.  You too can have a triumphal entry to the kingdom of God by receiving Jesus and his offer of peace, salvation, and grace.  Or you can leave here empty-handed.  The choice is yours.  Let us pray that you choose Jesus as your king, the true Messiah who offers peace, salvation, and grace. 

          When I worked for the federal government more than 11 years ago, I frequently flew to Washington, DC, for the workday. While in the city, I used the Washington Metro subway system, an efficient way to move about. Different colors marked the segments of the subway system.  Four segments met at L’Enfant Plaza.  From that station, a traveler could go in one of four directions or return to where they had begun.   But once you chose, you were committed to seeing things through.

          Today’s segment of our journey with Jesus to His resurrection reminds me of traveling to L’Enfant Plaza.  Today, many segments of Jesus’ journey come together at one point, which is a critical decision point.  It is the point of seeing things through.  This would be true for Jesus, Jesus’ disciples, and the Jewish high priest and ruling council.  The point of intersection was not Jerusalem or Rome, places of power, but in a cemetery and a home in a village called Bethany on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives.  Today, the village of Bethany has an Arabic name, al-Azariya, translated to English as “The Place of Lazarus.”

          Few stories in the Gospel of John are more powerful than the story of Lazarus, yet we know very little about Lazarus.  We had never heard of Lazarus until his sisters, Mary and Martha, told Jesus that Lazarus was severely ill.  We have no words from Lazarus.  We are told that Lazarus was a disciple of Jesus and that Jesus loved Lazarus, but we know nothing about Jesus’ relationship with Lazarus.  We don't know anything about Lazarus’ character.  We only know about his sisters, Mary and Martha, yet everything about Jesus’ journey to the resurrection will turn on a man named Lazarus. 

          When the story of Lazarus began, Jesus and his disciples had left the area of Jerusalem because the Jewish ruling council was seeking to arrest and kill Jesus. Jesus had returned to the River Jordan, where He began His public ministry after being baptized by John the Baptist.  While there, messengers came to Jesus from Martha and Mary saying, “Lord, the one you love is sick” (John 11:3b).  The sisters asked nothing of Jesus.  They left it up to Jesus how to respond to the news.

          Jesus responded, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it” (John 11:4). Jesus’ response should not surprise us. When Jesus encountered a man blind from birth, His disciples wanted to know, “Who sinned, the man or his parents?” Jesus said, “3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:3).  After Jesus had changed water into wine, John said it was to reveal God’s glory. At the heart of Jesus' mission was to show the glory of God.  Jesus' saying that Lazarus’ illness would be used to show God’s glory is no surprise.

          Two days passed after receiving the news of Lazarus’ illness, and Jesus told his disciples it was time to return to Judea. In protest, Jesus' disciples reminded Jesus that the Jews in Judea wanted to stone him.  Jesus said they must go, as Lazarus was now dead. Jesus added, “For your sake, I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him” (John 11:25).  Whatever Jesus planned to do would benefit His disciples.  Jesus and His disciples were moving forward to the critical intersection point in the village of Bethany.

          Upon arrival in Bethany, Lazarus’ sisters Martha and Mary met Jesus.  To Martha, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).  On His journey to the resurrection, Jesus made several claims. 

• To Nicodemus, Jesus spoke of himself as the Son of Man and claimed, “Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him” (John 3:14b-15).
• To the man crippled for 38 years, Jesus cured him and claimed God’s power to heal.
• To the high priest, Pharisees, and crowds in the Temple at the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus said, “38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them” (John 7:38).
• To the man born blind, Jesus said before he healed him, “I am the light of the world” (John 9:5).

To all these claims, Jesus added, “I am the resurrection and the life” and, “The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. (John 11:25-26).  Each step of Jesus' journey to His resurrection expanded Jesus’ claims and showed God's glory and power in ever greater dimensions.  Now, on the outskirts of Bethany, Jesus commanded His disciples and mourners to go to the cemetery where Lazarus was laid.

          John wrote, “38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 ‘Take away the stone,’ he said.  ‘But, Lord,’ said Martha, the sister of the dead man, ‘by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days’” (John 11:38-39).  The details here matter.  Lazarus was dead for four days.  Religious scholars tell us the Jews believed the spirit of the deceased stayed near the body for three days and then would depart.  Historians tell us that tombs were left open for three days before being closed in case the individual had not died.  The three days of an open tomb prevented accidentally burying someone alive.  It was now four days.  There is no doubt among Martha, Mary, and the mourners that Lazarus was physically and spiritually dead.  Lazarus’ body was undergoing rapid decay in the Judean climate.  Against these concerns, Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”  Lazarus was dead, to be sure, but Jesus claimed belief in Him as the resurrection and life would result in seeing the glory of God.

          John wrote that the protests about the odor ended.  “41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.’  43 When he [Jesus] had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice ‘Lazarus, come out!’ 44 The dead man [Lazarus] came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face” (John 11:41-44).  The magnificent glory of God was displayed, restoring life to the body of a man who was dead and decaying and restoring the man’s spirit to that revived body.

          Joy overwhelmed the mourners, and belief in Jesus exploded among the witnesses, including many people close to the Jewish high priest, setting off a panic among the Jewish ruling council.  Jesus’ foes on the council shouted with a sense of danger, “48 If we let him [Jesus] go on like this, everyone will believe in him [Jesus (and not us)], and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation” (Jesus 11:48).  For Jesus to be recognized as greater, they would have to become lesser. This Jesus’ foes would not do.

          The same is true today.  Jesus’ foes will not agree to become lesser in the presence of Jesus.  We spoke of this last week.  The issue is one of autonomy, not of the body but of the will. This is a belief that absolute security can be gained by one’s efforts through the accumulation of wealth, fame, and good works.  To be a believer requires submission of our will to Jesus, following Him, serving others, and walking humbly, all of which speak to becoming lesser so that Jesus can be acknowledged as greater.  Today’s nonbelievers will not yield their spiritual autonomy, and neither would significant members of the Jewish ruling council, even with the evidence of God’s glory displayed through Jesus.

          A man named Yosef bar Caiaphas entered the mounting hysteria of the people in power. In English, we would say the man’s name as Joseph the son of Caiaphas.  In Scripture, he is known as Caiaphas, the high priest, the most recognizable man in the leadership of the Jews at the time of Jesus.  Caiaphas was the high priest for 18 years between 18 AD and 36 AD.  His tenure as high priest overlapped the rule of Judea by the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate for the 10 years between 26 AD and 36 AD.  Caiaphas and Pilate understood how power worked in Judea and how to keep the delicate balance between the Jews and the Romans.  To the Pharisees, upset as Jesus' rapidly rising influence with the raising of Lazarus, Caiaphas thundered, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish” (John 11:49b-50). “53 So from that day on they [Jewish ruling council] plotted to take his [Jesus’] life.” The chief priests also “made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11 for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him” (John 12:10b-11).  The die was cast.  The chief priest, on account of what had been happening with Jesus and what happened in Bethany with the raising of Lazarus from the dead, decided that he and his colleagues could no longer win against Jesus.  Whoever this Jesus was, the chief priest was always second to Jesus.  The chief priest knew he could not afford to lose, otherwise he would be useless to Pilate. And so, Caiaphas decided to prevent a loss; he would kill Jesus and perhaps even Lazarus.

          There would be one final segment to the intersection of Jesus, his disciples, and the Jewish authorities in a small village called Bethany.  John described in Chapter 12, “1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume” (John 12:1-3).  Jesus said, Mary did this because, “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial” (John 12:7a).  Upon the occasion of celebrating life, the life of Lazarus, Jesus, aware the Jewish council was plotting his death, confirmed that He would soon die.  It would be from the village of Bethany, to the east of Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives, that Jesus would spend his last days.  He knew that and plainly told his disciples he would soon be killed.

          Mary’s anointing announced Jesus' death.  Mary wiping the perfume with her hair caused the whole house to be filled with the smell of the anointing.  No one who entered the house could avoid asking why the scent of nard was there. The reply would have been, “The Master said He has been anointed for his death.”

          In the little village of Bethany, Lazarus’s raising from the dead, the disciples' following of Jesus, the Jews' decision to kill Jesus, and the anointing of Jesus for his death intersected.  At this intersection, the people celebrated Lazarus’ death, ending in life, the high priest plotted to murder Jesus, and now Jesus talked about Him going from life to death.

          What do we do with this scene from Bethany? We must realize that our lives have a starting point, many intermediate stops, and an endpoint. This is true for everyone.  None of us had any choice in our starting point.  We did not decide when our lives would begin or to whom we would be first held. We were just born.  Throughout our lives, we make decisions that determine our intermediate stops.  Those decisions might involve where we go to school and work, who we associate with, and what we may accomplish.  And then there is the endpoint.  Someday, our lives will end.  This is true for everyone. 

We must also realize that God chooses to move through each person's life.  Why does God decide to touch our lives?  Who are we that God should bother with us?  Scripture tells us that God moves through our lives because God loves us. God does not love us because of our decisions and accomplishments.  God loves us because we have a starting point, a birth.  God loves you because you were born and possess His image within you. God loves you as well because you have an endpoint.  And God knows that unless He does something for you and me, our endpoint is an eternal death without Him.  This is true for everyone.

Because God loves you, God sent His Son, Jesus, to change your life, to give you and me words of life, and to invite us to follow Him to a new endpoint, not of eternal death but of eternal life.  But here is the thing.  To make our endpoint eternal life and not eternal death, Jesus said something extraordinary.  Jesus said, “I must die so that you can live.”  Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead so that we would know Jesus’ words are true, “I am the resurrection and the life.  The one who believes in me will live” (John 11:25a).  Caiaphas, the high priest, chose to plot Jesus’ death believing that it was better for one man to die than all.  “51 He [Caiaphas] did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God” (John 11:51-52a).  Mary anointed Jesus with nard.  Jesus said, “She saved this perfume for the day of my burial” (John 11:7). These three points intersected in a little village called Bethany, and  pointed to the truth of Jesus’ statement, “I must die so that you can live.”

We will participate in the Lord’s Supper in a few moments. We will take the bread and the cup, symbols of Jesus’ body and blood. They are another way of Jesus saying to you, “I must die so that you can live.” 

What is your endpoint?  Jesus came into your life and died for you.  His work is complete.  Have you done your part to change your endpoint?  Have you accepted His death, and do you live for Him?  Let us pray.

          Ethos, logos, and pathos are three Greek words that the ancient philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC) taught his students to use when presenting a convincing argument.  Aristotle taught that speakers first must establish their ethos, character, credibility, or authority to speak on a subject for their words to persuade others. Second, the speaker must reveal the logos, meaning the content of their words, to the listeners.  Finally, the speaker must have pathos or emotion to share the ideas through moving stories.  Jesus was not a student of Aristotle; he did not need to be. Jesus was the Son of God and certainly conveyed his message on the journey to the resurrection with ethos, logos, and pathos.

          Jesus’ supreme character, credibility, and authority were displayed through miraculous healing. Jesus’ words, commands, and touch healed people who were desperately ill or demon-possessed.  Even members of the Jewish ruling authority who were suspicious, resentful, and disliked Jesus had to admit that Jesus did things that never happened in Israel. Jesus had the attention of friend and foe alike.  Everyone wanted to hear what Jesus had to say.

          Jesus’s logos, his message, was simple.  God fulfilled his promise of a new covenant through His Messiah, His Son.  Anyone who believed in Jesus would not perish but have eternal life.  Jesus described the transformation of a sinner into a saint as a second birth, a canceling of sin, a life fed by Jesus, and a thirst for righteousness quenched by Jesus.  Some believed that Jesus had the words of life.  Others could not accept what Jesus said.

          When it came to pathos or emotion, Jesus again displayed a range from righteous anger in clearing the temple to compassionate care in raising a child from the dead. Jesus taught with emotionally charged stories or parables and elicited his listeners' excitement, conviction, anger, and joy.

          Today, on our journey with Jesus to His resurrection, we will witness Jesus’ ethos, logos, and pathos. Today’s moment with Jesus is pivotal, occurring in the Temple. It began with a request that Jesus plainly state whether He was the Messiah and ended with searing anger and murderous rage from His detractors. Through this moment, we are left with the choice of who Jesus is and whether Jesus has the words of eternal life.

          We come into this moment at the time of the Feast of Dedication.  This celebration's current and common name is Hanukkah, which means “to dedicate.”  The Feast of Dedication, or Hanukkah, was established to celebrate the revolutionary conquest of Jerusalem by Judas Maccabeus in 164 BC from the power of Antiochus Epiphanes.  Upon the conquest of Jerusalem, Maccabeus cleansed the Temple of all pagan worship and re-dedicated it to the worship of Yahweh.  Maccabeus relit the menorah in the Temple, and instead of burning for just one day, the menorah burned for eight days.  The Feast of Dedication, Hanukkah, also called the Festival of Lights, celebrates the deliverance from pagan rulers and the restoration of rule under God.  The festival carried with it an excited sense that God would send His Messiah as a person like Judas Maccabeus.  The Messiah would be a warrior-king, leading Israel to new conquests and freeing it from the Romans.

          With this backdrop, John tells us, “22 Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly’” (John 10:22-24).  The Jews, meaning the Jewish ruling authorities, felt the pathos or emotion of suspense.  The Jews were nervous, anxious, uneasy, and edgy, wanting to know the answer to this timeless question, “Who is Jesus?”  The Jews had seen Jesus's power to heal, inspire the crowds, and teach with authority.  The Jews were captivated by Jesus’ ethos and his character.  What confounded the Jews was Jesus’ logos, His message. The Jews could not accept what Jesus was saying.  Jesus challenged the Jews’ understanding of God, righteousness, rituals, the Law, sin, heaven, hell, and eternal life.  Jesus challenged the Jews’ understanding of the Messiah.  The Jews were amazed at Jesus’ teachings and yet wanted to kill him because of what the Jews saw as Jesus’ disregard for their beliefs and practices.  Jesus frustrated the Jews because the Jews could not write off Jesus as just another misguided religious zealot.

          Understanding the conflict of the Jews at this point, we should pause for a moment and acknowledge that not everyone here believes in Jesus Christ in the same way.  Some people here today may not believe Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, Lord, or Savior.  Why do people not believe in Jesus?  There are a few reasons for us to consider.

          First, people do not believe the evidence.  They see the Bible as unreliable.  This should not surprise us.  We have seen and will see again that some people who saw Jesus refused to believe the evidence of Jesus’ claims.

          Second, people have had negative experiences with Christians or a church.  They cannot believe in Christ because of the behaviors of Christ’s followers.

          Third, and I think this is the biggest reason today, people disagree with Jesus’ teachings and His logos because Jesus’ teachings conflict with their sense of autonomy. What do I mean by that?  Autonomy is the idea of each person deciding what is right and best for them.  It is a sense that I must stand apart from anything that might control me.  The concept of bodily autonomy has become a big part of American life.  Arguments of bodily autonomy are central to abortion rights advocates with such slogans as “My body, my choice.”  This is an argument from autonomy.  People opposed to all vaccinations desire bodily autonomy, with the right to refuse any vaccination required or recommended by the government.  This is an argument from autonomy.  How does that autonomy play in believing in Christ? Jesus said a lot of things that conflict with autonomy.  Jesus said:

• “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).  You must be part of Jesus; otherwise, with autonomy, you accomplish nothing.
• “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and be following Me” (Matthew 16:24).  You must deny yourself; that is, denying your autonomy.

People today are unwilling to deny themselves anything or believe they cannot accomplish anything apart from Jesus.  They will not give up their autonomy.

Finally, personal pain prevents acceptance of Christ.  People blame God for their suffering and, by extension, blame Jesus for their suffering.  They emotionally refuse to consider doing anything that ends their separation from God, whom they have come to hate.  The longer they hate, the more they will feel justified by their hate, and the less likely they will ever turn to God.

Everyone here knows and loves someone who denies Christ for one or more reasons.  But it does not need to be that way with you.  You are here because God moved you here.  God wants you to receive Jesus fully.  This is why we spend time exploring the ethos, logos, and pathos of Jesus so that we will believe and be saved.  This is the situation Jesus was facing in the Temple during the Feast of Dedication, Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights when the Jews who struggled to believe Jesus said to Him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly” (John 10:24b).

Jesus said, “25 ‘I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one’” (John 10:25-30).  What did Jesus reveal here?

First, Jesus revealed plainly that He had told the Jews He was the Messiah.  Jesus said, “I did tell you and you can see that I am the Messiah by the works I do in my Father’s name, which prove who I am.”  Jesus said openly he was the Messiah to some people, said it indirectly to others, and did miracles only God could do.  The prophecies of the Old Testament foretold the things Jesus said and did.  There were no surprises.

Second, Jesus revealed the Jews were not hearing what Jesus said because they had not been given to Christ by God.  They were not his sheep.  Jesus then said that the distinguishing characteristic of Jesus’ sheep is that they know and listen to his voice.  The point here is that Jesus’ disciples saw Jesus’ ethos, Jesus’ character, they heard Jesus’ logos, Jesus’ words, and they had pathos, a shared passionate belief in Jesus.  Because the disciples have accepted Jesus, they were under Jesus' care as their shepherd. In that care, the disciples would enjoy eternal life that could not be taken from them.  The Jews could have been part of Jesus’ flock, but they did not believe; they refused to accept Jesus’ ethos, logos, and pathos. The Jews refused to believe the evidence of Jesus’ claims out of a combination of pride and arrogance.  As a result, the Jews would not experience the shepherding care of Jesus, including eternal life.  Jesus then said that because the Jews were not part of his flock, the Jews also had no part with God because Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.”

At this, John wrote, “31 Again his [Jesus’] Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”  33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God” (John 10:31-33).  Jesus had answered the Jewish authority’s plea, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly” (John 10:24).  Jesus answered plainly, “I and the Father are one.”  The Jews plainly understood Jesus’ words, “You claim to be God.”  Yes, friends, that is the gospel truth.  Jesus is God.

Amid the beautiful columns of the Temple, Jesus made clear who He was, is, and always will be. Jesus was God living among the people, and here, at the Feast of Dedication, He brought God's glory back to the Temple. This was a key moment in Jesus’ journey to His resurrection. People could not deny Jesus’ identity except by closing their eyes and minds and refusing to believe.

We then must ask ourselves what this pivotal moment means to us. If you are here and believe in Jesus’ plainly stated claims that He is the Messiah and that He and the Father are one, then you are open-minded.  You have approached the truth and accepted it.  In that truth, Jesus became your shepherd, and you are under his protection and care.  You cannot be snatched out of His hand.  Like all people, you will have moments of struggle in this life, but you do not struggle alone.  Jesus is with you in the struggle.  Most importantly, you have eternal life with God because you believe and follow God in this life.

We are called to share the good news of Jesus with others who are not here today.  We want to encourage them to come and see, hear, and believe in the truth that they, too, could become part of Jesus’ flock.  Some will come if you ask them.  However, the world is also full of closed-minded people who will reject your encouragement.  Closed-minded people will reject Jesus and likely will reject you.  That’s OK.  Closed-minded people rejected Jesus to His face.  As we will see in the weeks ahead, closed-minded people killed Jesus.

Why did closed-minded people kill Jesus?  I think the reason can be illustrated by today’s pivotal moment from the Feast of Dedication, Hanukkah, the Festival of the Lights. The celebration centered on the clearing of the Temple, so that the glory of God could be revealed again. The lights miraculously burned bright for days.  Now, Jesus had entered that Temple, declaring the glory of God was present.  But closed-minded people would not accept Jesus’ claim.  Why is that? John explained,  “19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God” (John 3:19-21).  Closed-minded people scream to put out the light and remain in darkness.

You’re here today because you are open-minded, desiring to be part of the flock under the care of Jesus.  Welcome.  Let’s enjoy the light of Christ together.  Amen and Amen.

          The ever-favorite Christian hymn, Amazing Grace, has a phrase appropriate to today’s message, “I once was blind, but now I see.”  Blindness is a peculiar condition.  About 1 million people in the United States are considered blind.  Blindness comes in many forms.  There is congenital blindness, that is, someone is blind from birth. Others are born with sight but lose sight due to illness or injury.  I was blind in my left eye for a few days in 2011 when I experienced a detached retina.  None of the light striking my eye could be received by my brain. Following a procedure in the doctor's office, vision was restored, albeit with some minor decline.

          Being born blind at birth is now rare. In 2023, 3.6 million babies were born in the United States.  About 50 of those 3.6 million babies were born blind. In our journey today with Jesus to His resurrection, Jesus encountered a man born blind.  The encounter was chronicled in Chapter 9 of John’s Gospel.

The encounter between Jesus and the blind man came just after members of the Jewish ruling council had sought to stone Jesus to death. Jesus slipped away from the council members but remained within the Temple complex in Jerusalem.  John wrote, “1 As he [Jesus] went along, he [Jesus] saw a man blind from birth. 2 His [Jesus’] disciples asked him [Jesus], ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’” (Jesus 9:1-2).  We do not know how Jesus and his disciples knew that man was blind from birth, but they knew.  Ancient people believed there was a direct connection between sin and bodily illnesses. Therefore, the disciples ask Jesus whether the party responsible for the man’s blindness was the man or the man’s parents sinned.  In Jesus’ time, the idea of whether an unborn baby could sin was a hotly debated question among the rabbis.  Either way, Jesus’ disciples wanted to know who was the sinner of record that caused the man’s blindness.  Even though Jesus’ disciples posed this question to Jesus with the words, “Rabbi, who sinned?” it was telling that they asked Jesus this question.  Doing so suggests Jesus’ disciples now believed Jesus knew the mind of God.  “Jesus, who was the sinner here?”

Jesus replied, “’3 Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this [blindness] happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him [the blind man]” (John 9:3).  Even though the man and his parents were sinners, Jesus said those sins did not lead to this man’s blindness.  But this man’s blindness would be used so that the works of God might be displayed in Jesus.  Said another way, “The man’s life began in blindness, but it will not end in blindness. Instead, the man’s blindness would end with the glory of God brought through His Son whom God will glorify” (cf. John 11:4).  The man’s blindness was never about sin, but instead the blindness would be healed for the glory of God the Father and God the Son.  While brief, this dialogue between Jesus and his disciples is very important to our reading of the Bible.  When we read the Bible, we should not find faults or wonder how we might have responded to the story.  Our purpose should be to understand how God revealed Himself through the Bible. Jesus pointed out that the disciples should not focus on the sin of the blind man or his parents but on the glory of God being revealed.

Jesus then explained further that there was an urgency to do the work God had called Jesus to do, the glory of God to show.  Jesus said, “4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:4-5). Jesus is the light of the world. The relationship between Jesus’ statement and the man’s blindness was unmistakable.  The blind man could see no light but Jesus had in mind to heal the man’s blindness and let him not just see the physical world but also see the “light of the world.”

The encounter between Jesus and the blind man came just after Jesus had been to the Temple for the Feast of the Tabernacles.  On the festival's last day, the prayers and expectations for God’s Messiah were at their highest.  In front of the high priest, the Pharisees, and the crowds of common people, Jesus stood and shouted, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them” (Jesus 7:27b-38).  It was Jesus’ clearest public statement that He was the Messiah.  Now, Jesus stood before a blind man, declared himself the “light of the world,” and was preparing to restore his sight.  This, too, would be a declaration of the coming of the Messiah, for in the Book of Isaiah, we would read that the Messiah, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners” (Isaiah 61:1) and “to open eyes that are blind” (Isaiah 42:7).  Jesus was fulfilling the scriptures, not just with words but with actions.

John wrote, “6 After saying this, he [Jesus] spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it [the mud] on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he [Jesus] told him [the blind man], “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing” (John 9:6-7).  Jesus had cured this man of blindness from birth.  I cannot imagine the man’s joy at seeing and trying to take in everything that he was now seeing.  It must have been difficult to see objects, people, and animals and understand everything.  This man was now a new man, a new creation.  Everything about the way he previously lived had been changed in the instant he encountered Jesus, the light of the world, the Messiah.  What a joyous day indeed.

But to understand what came next, we need to look at the miracle. John said that as part of the healing, Jesus spit on the ground, made mud, and put it on the man’s eyes.  This seems a little strange, but there was a purpose in Jesus’ actions. 

First, Jesus spit.  This is not the only time Jesus used spit in healing.  In the Gospel of Mark, we would read, “33 After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly” (Mark 7:33-35).  Also, from the Gospel of  Mark, a blind man was brought to Jesus, “22 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him” (Mark 8:22-23). In at least three instances, Jesus used spit as part of the act of healing.  It is difficult to know the reason for using spit because, generally, spit was then considered by religious authorities as dirty and unclean.  Spit was used as a sign of great disrespect.  Jesus had prophesied that the religious leaders would spit on him and condemn him to death, and they did.  During the crucifixion process, the Romans also spit on Jesus.  Not much has changed in 2,000 years.  Spit is treated as unclean or dirt, and to spit on someone is still a sign of disrespect. But Jesus used His spit to heal, perhaps demonstrating His authority to reverse any human convention or belief was absolute.

Second, in this circumstance, Jesus spit on the ground, mixed it with dirt, and made mud. We will see in a few moments that this healing happened on the Sabbath and that healing and kneading materials together, here spit and dirt mixed to make mud, were judged by the Jewish ruling council as work and thus against their Sabbath rules.  Again, it seems Jesus demonstrated His authority over human conventions and rules.

As we return our attention to the formerly blind man, we discover that he shared the good news with his neighbors but could not tell them who healed him.  The neighbors brought the man to the Pharisees to share so that the religious leaders could learn of this miracle.  And that is when things went from good to bad.

Upon hearing Jesus’ actions, “16 Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man [Jesus] is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath’” (John 9:16).  But other Pharisees wondered, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” And so, the Jewish ruling council members were divided among themselves.  The Pharisees sought to heal their divide by concluding that man had never been blind.  If the Pharisees denied the miracle, then the Pharisees would again be united and would not have to deal with the reality of Jesus.  And so, the Pharisees concluded the miracle had never happened, and they demanded the man’s parents appear before them to confirm the man had never been blind.  The parents appeared and confirmed the son’s blindness, but still, the Pharisees were not satisfied.  The Pharisees demanded the man appear before them again.

To the man, the Pharisees said, “Give glory to God by telling the truth.  We know this man is a sinner” (John 9:24).  In essence, the Pharisees were saying, “Before God, own up and admit the truth, you were never blind and this man who claims to have healed you is a sinner.”   The Pharisees desperately wanted the miracle not to be true.  The same is true today.  People want to deny Jesus’ miracles.  Why?  If you deny Jesus’ miracles, then you can deny Jesus’ claims of divinity, of being God. If you deny Jesus’ claims, you do not need to listen to anything Jesus says.  You can continue to do as you do.  However, if you accept Jesus’ miracles as true, then you must deal with what Jesus said about himself.  “I am the light of the world.”  “I am the bread of heaven.”  And, of course, the most offensive of all statements Jesus ever made, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).  To avoid dealing with the reality that Jesus is the way to God, it is best to begin by denying the miracles of Jesus.  This is what is done today and by the Pharisees 2,000 years ago.  The former blind man would not change his story, so the Pharisees kicked the man out of the synagogue, meaning other Jews could no longer engage in conversation with this man.

It would once again seem as though the story would end here. But as we read further, “35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him [the former blind man] out, and when he [Jesus] found him [the man], he [Jesus] said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’  36 ‘Who is he, sir?’ the man asked. ‘Tell me so that I may believe in him.’  37 Jesus said, ‘You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.’  38 Then the man said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshiped him [Jesus]. 39 Jesus said, ‘For  judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.’ 40 Some Pharisees who were with him [Jesus] heard him say this and asked, ‘What? Are we blind too?’ 41 Jesus said, ‘If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” (John 9:35-41).  Jesus concluded the story with a strong warning.  “If you, Pharisee, were ignorant, God would forgive your sins because you did not know the truth.  But you are not ignorant, and yet you still sin.  God will not forgive your sins because you choose actions knowing they were sin.”

What, then, do we take away from this stop on Jesus’ journey to the resurrection?  I think there is one thing for us to consider.  First, Jesus was making it clearer that He is the Messiah.  He suggested that to Nicodemus at their meeting at night. To a Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus said he was the Messiah.  When Jesus healed the man crippled for 38 years, he made known his power to cure and cancel sin.  This, again, was a sign of Jesus anointing from God.  When Jesus said he was the bread of life that came down from heaven, Jesus affirmed God sent him and that he and the Father were one.  Here, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world,” and then Jesus made the blind to see just as had been foretold by the prophets. The evidence of Jesus’ identity was mounting.  The resistance to the truth was strong, but there were now some doubts creeping into the ranks of the Pharisees.  Some of the Pharisees were beginning to question the idea that Jesus was a sinner and not from God.  The high priest and his people could not afford doubt to enter their ranks.  More dynamic action would be required.  Jesus knew this was so because Jesus kept telling his disciples, “He must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed” (Mark 8:31).  Jesus knew His journey would require death.

The key point here is that the longer we spend on the journey with Jesus to his resurrection, the more we understand the truth about Jesus. Near the end of John’s Gospel, John wrote, “30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30-31).  The purpose of each stop on this journey to Jesus’ resurrection is to come to believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that we may have life in his name. To believe in Jesus is not taking a weight upon ourselves.  It is taking a weight off ourselves.  Thank you, God, for knowing you love me and how you have provided for me.  Now I see that all I need to do is accept and follow Jesus.

Choose this day to no longer be blind but to see Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God.  Have Jesus change everything about your life, allowing you to leave behind your old ways and worship with a new vision granted to you through the “light of the world.”  Let us each be like the former blind man and face Jesus and say, “Lord, I believe.” Amen and Amen.

I want to begin today by discussing children blowing out candles on a birthday cake.  I know that is a strange place to start a sermon.  So I ask you to bear with me.  But kids, candles, and birthday cakes are something everyone has in common. The scene I want you to visualize is the moment the candles are all lit, the wish has been made, and the kid has drawn in that mighty breath of air to blow across the candles.  Just then, an older brother moves closer to the cake and blows out the candles before the birthday child can do so.  You have the scene in mind.  The birthday child’s joyful moment in the spotlight is gone.  Joy is replaced with anger.  I want you to keep that sort of emotional experience in mind. We are going to see and understand how anger from that sort of experience became a blinding rage that kept some from believing in Jesus as Christ and turning others into murderers. Welcome to our next stop on Jesus’ journey to the resurrection.  It is a journey that will change your life.

We begin today’s segment of Jesus’ journey to the resurrection; we find Jesus at home with his brothers, James, Joses, Judas, and Simon.  It was time for the Festival of Tabernacles.  The festival was a seven-day celebration, remembering the exodus from Egypt.  This festival was one of three festivals that many Jews celebrated in Jerusalem.  Jesus’ brothers, who did not then believe in Jesus’ ministry, said to Jesus, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. 4 No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” (John 7:3-4).  Jesus, who was already being sought by the Jewish ruling authority that they might kill him for blasphemy, said to his brothers, “8 You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival because my time has not yet fully come” (John 7:8).  Jesus’ brothers left for Jerusalem, but Jesus remained in Galilee.

Over the centuries, the Festival of Tabernacles became a popular celebration for the people.  The high point of the Festival came near the end of the week when the high priest poured water from the pool of Siloam into a golden cup on the altar.  The Jews saw this part of the worship as a plea from God for rainfall of the coming year and a symbolic request for God to send His Messiah, His chosen person, to restore Israel.  One time, about 100 years before the celebration we are discussing, the high priest, who was also the king of Israel, poured the water from the pool onto his own feet.  This outraged the worshippers, who thought the high priest and king’s action was disrespectful of God and the ceremony.  In their anger, the worshippers threw citrus fruit at the man.  The king and high priest angrily sent his troops into the crowd with drawn swords.  Soon, 6,000 worshippers lay dead.  The moment of pouring out the water was an emotionally charged event.

Sometime after Jesus’ brothers left for the festival in Jerusalem with its emotionally charged outpouring of water, Jesus went to Jerusalem secretly.  Jesus entered the Temple courts and began teaching on the fourth day of the seven-day festival.  “15 The Jews there were amazed and asked, ‘How did this man get such learning without having been taught?’” (John 7:15).  Jesus explained that His teaching was not of his own but was God’s, the one who sent him. 25 At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they [the ruling council] are trying to kill? 26 Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? 27 But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from” (John 7:25-27).  The people had become confused.  Was Jesus the Messiah?  Was Jesus a dangerous man the rulers wanted to kill?  People’s questions about Jesus persist today.  Jesus forces no one to believe in Him.  As in Jesus’ day, so it is true today, each person must answer this question: "Who is Jesus?”

“32 The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him [Jesus]. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him [Jesus]” (John 7:32).  But the guards were not able to arrest Jesus as it was not his time.

 A few days passed, and It was the festival's last day.  The last day would conclude with pouring the water from the Pool of Siloam into the golden cup.  The final prayer was for rain to come and a petition that God would send his Messiah.  It was the chief priest's cherished and emotionally charged moment.  It was, if you will, the moment for the birthday child to blow out the candles on the cake.  John wrote, “On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.’”  It was to the high priest the moment the older brother blew out his candles on the birthday cake.  Against the backdrop of water pouring out and the high priest’s prayers for rain and the Messiah, Jesus said loudly, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.”  This was the most straightforward public sign that Jesus was making known He was the Messiah. Jesus’ words angered the high priest and the Pharisees, but they no longer controlled troops, just a few Temple guards.  This must have been an electrifying moment where everyone’s attention was captured. It must have been one of those moments where you hold your breath and wonder what will happen next.   The water that came from God as a blessing of hope was now being proclaimed by Jesus to be Him.  Jesus was saying, “I am the hope that you seek.”  Only Jesus would satisfy the thirst and the needs of the people. Before people could react, Jesus continued, “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

“40 On hearing his [Jesus] words, some of the people said, ‘Surely this man is the Prophet.’  41 Others said, ‘He [Jesus] is the Messiah’” (John 7:40). Still others did not believe someone from Galilee could be the Messiah as the Messiah was to come from Bethlehem of Judea.  “43 Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him” (John 7:43-44).

Anger consumed the chief priest, a man named Caiaphas.  Jesus had upstaged Caiaphas and had declared himself God’s Messiah.  Temple guards were dispatched to arrest Jesus.  “45 Finally, the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, ‘Why didn’t you bring him in?’  46 ‘No one ever spoke the way this man does,’ the guards replied.  47 ‘You mean he has deceived you also?’ the Pharisees retorted. 48 ‘Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them’” (John 7:45-49).  As plainly as Jesus expressed his identity as Messiah, the Jewish ruling council just as plainly rejected Jesus and his claim.

We see here that belief in Jesus as God’s Son, God’s Messiah, was rejected the moment Jesus said He was.  Those who rejected Jesus called those who believed Jesus an uneducated mob and cursed them.  Not much has changed in 2,000 years.  If you are a Christian, meaning you believe Jesus is the Son of God, then to many people, you are an ignorant person who should be cursed.  If you are a Christian, then many people find you and your beliefs offensive.

Why do people find Christ, Christianity, and you offensive?  In Jesus’ case, Jesus offended the religious leaders by declaring that salvation would be found in Him, not in religious practices.  The chief priests, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees believed that strict adherence to their rules and practices made them righteous.  Standing before God, they could say, “We are Abraham’s children, and we have worshipped God through faithful sacrifice and rituals. We must now accept us.”

But Jesus stood in the Temple, the place of rituals, and while the chief priest was celebrating his great moment, Jesus said, “This is not the way to God.  If you thirst for God, come to Me.  Whoever believes in Me shall have eternal life.”  Jesus' words overturned the idea of ritual and said the truth rests in Christ. That Jesus would say there is only one way to God, Him, is offensive.  If there is only one right answer, all other answers are necessarily wrong.  To accept Jesus means you cannot say, “My truth is…”  There is only “the truth.”  To accept Jesus means you cannot say, “I deserve to be in heaven because I am a good person.”  Only God is good.  People reject Christ because they want to live their lives their way and then demand God accept them for the way they are.  Jesus said, “If you want God, come to Me; there is no other way.”

Understanding that Jesus is the way to God is central to Jesus’ journey to the resurrection.  In these past few weeks, we have seen that Jesus told Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council, to move from the realm of the world to the realm of God you must be born again.  That second birth is a spiritual birth, a gift from God.  We then saw that Jesus healed a man paralyzed for 38 years. There, we learned that Jesus has the power to heal and the power to cancel sin.  When challenged, Jesus said He was the Son of God.  The ruling Jewish Council was outraged and wanted to kill Jesus. Last week, we saw Jesus say that he was the bread of life and that to know God, one must eat of Jesus’ flesh and drink of his blood.  The idea here was that Jesus sustains life now and eternal.  Followers left Jesus, and the Jewish ruling council wanted to kill Jesus all the more.  And now, Jesus said if you thirst for God, come to Him and drink, for whoever believes in Him shall have living water within them for all eternity.  The Jewish ruling council now actively sought to arrest Jesus so that they could kill him.

Jesus’ journey to the resurrection is a combination of the good news of God and the desire of men to kill Jesus.  We can understand this conflict because God chooses to show His power by giving life, and humanity chooses to show its power by taking life.

The good news shared by Jesus was that anyone could enter the realm of God if they were born again by the Spirit of God. Anyone could have their sins canceled not by works but by the power of Christ.  Anyone could have a life sustained and preserved for eternity if they only came to Christ for nourishment.  Anyone could have their thirst for God quenched if they only came to Christ for living water.  This is the good news of Jesus.  That news was so radical to what the people of Israel had been taught that conflict with the teachers of Israel was not only likely, it was necessary.  We read elsewhere in Scripture, “He (Jesus) then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31). The conflict between the good news of Jesus and the beliefs of the Jewish ruling council would end with Jesus’ resurrection.  But there can be no resurrection unless there is first a death.  Jesus said this means the Jewish rulers must reject him, and they must kill Jesus.  As strange as it may sound, Jesus’ death was part of God’s plan to show the truth of Jesus’ words and the wrongness of the Jewish council.  Jesus’ death was necessary to cancel sin and demonstrate the power of God to bring forth life from death.

Because of the resurrection, belief in Jesus of Nazareth would forever change the believer.  The change would be inward and expressed outwardly.  There is an indwelling of his spirit, which flows out to others.  The believer's heart is changed, and from them “flows rivers of living water.” 

Jesus challenged and changed the sacred moment of water pouring out, claiming, “God has met your thirst; follow me.”  His words needed a response.  On that day, “On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”  Others said, “He is the Messiah.”  Still others doubted.  You see, Jesus’ words compel us to make a choice.  Either we must believe his words and receive him as the water of life, or we must reject him.  There is no middle ground.  When we accept and act on Jesus’ words, when we accept and act on the purpose He has for our lives, we move from the world into God’s kingdom.  Some, even our brothers and sisters, will not believe in what we hold as truth.  They will seek to distract us in their own ways and certainly will not support us. That is one reason we come together each week: to have the support of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

We have to ask ourselves today, “Where am I? Do I believe Jesus’ words that my thirst for true life is met in him?  Have I accepted him wholeheartedly such that I know His Spirit is within me and the waters of life flow from me?  Or do I sit in the darkness of the world?”  Only you can answer those questions.

 This day, in this setting, let’s receive again the outpouring of God’s grace through Jesus Christ.  Let us thirst no more.  Amen and Amen.

We are on a journey with Jesus to His resurrection.  Along the way, we met a Pharisee, a man, Nicodemus, a ruling council member.  Nicodemus stepped from the darkness of night into the light of Christ’s presence.  In the light, Nicodemus learned that unless we are born again, we shall not see the kingdom of God.  We also met an unnamed man lying beside the Pool of Bethesda. The man was paralyzed for 38 years. Jesus told the man to “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk!”  The man learned that we must choose to be made well by Jesus and be freed from sin.  This is what happens when we are born again.

Today, we are moving with Jesus towards His resurrection as He told friend and foe alike that to be bound for glory in the realm of God required eating Jesus’ body and drinking his blood.  Jesus’ words were difficult for his followers to hear and repulsive to his detractors.  When Jesus’ followers heard Jesus’ words, many left him and never returned.  Jesus’ foes declared Him insane or demon-possessed. What in the world was Jesus talking about when He said that you must eat of his body and drink of his blood? Let’s pick up our journey today in Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel, where Jesus taught through dialogue with the people of a synagogue in Capernaum, the hometown of several of Jesus’ disciples.

“35 Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me” (John 6:35-38).

Just before this teaching, Jesus had fed 5,000 men plus their accompanying families.  The people were excited by what Jesus had done.  The people were so excited that they had in mind to force Jesus to become their king.  Jesus left the crowd's presence, but the crowd followed, looking for Jesus to fill their stomachs.  Jesus shocked the crowd when, rather than miraculously producing more food to eat, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life that has come down from heaven.” 

To Jesus’ audience, which was overwhelmingly Jewish, the idea of bread coming down from heaven was understood as the manna God provided to the Hebrew people escaping Egypt.  The Book of Exodus records, “4 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day’” (Exodus 16:4).  “31 The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey” (Exodus 16:31).  Manna, bread from heaven, nourished the ancient Hebrews and gave them life.  Manna was seen as a life-saving gift from God.

But Jesus declared himself the bread of life that came from heaven.  John wrote, “41 At this the Jews [likely the ruling Council members] there began to grumble about him [Jesus] because he [Jesus] said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ 42 They said, ‘Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?’” (John 6:41-42).  The ruling Council members again focused on the physical world and relied upon what they thought they knew.  The Jews thought Jesus was the son of a common laborer.  Jesus was a nobody born of a nobody.  Jesus, the Jews believed, was talking nonsense about having come down from heaven, as though Jesus was somehow superior to them.  The Jews were displaying arrogance.

Arrogance is believing foremost in yourself, not in a self-confident manner but in a way of self-importance. It is a belief that you are beyond learning.  Arrogance breeds a sense of entitlement.  The Jews defensively dismissed Jesus because he was a nobody.  In rejecting the person Jesus, the Jews did not need to deal with Jesus’ message.

          Jesus, undeterred by the Jews’ arrogance, continued to bring the message God sent Him to speak. “48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:48-51).  Jesus made His message so stark as to end the grumbling about His parents.  Jesus said He was the bread of life and that to live forever, to move from the realm of the world to the realm of God, was only possible if you ate the bread Jesus offered.  Jesus said that bread was His own body, his flesh.

          Jesus’ words broke through the first layer of the Jews’ arrogance.  “52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’” (John 6:52). The Jews were still thinking in the worldly realm, but instead of speaking of Jesus’ parents, they were talking about Jesus offering his flesh for people to eat.  They were thinking like cannibals, not as spiritual leaders.  The scene with these Jews differs from when Jesus taught Nicodemus at night.  But the central problem is the same.  Jesus said to Nicodemus, “12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?” (John 3:12).  Nicodemus struggled, the Jews here struggle, and many people today struggle to understand the spiritual things of Jesus because they do not understand essential earthly things.

          What are those essential earthly things?  It all begins with God.  God calls all things into being and gives them their nature and place in an ordered creation.  Plants and animals, even such things as rocks and rivers, follow the patterns of their nature.  Humans, because they are made in the image of God, were designed to follow the pattern of God’s nature with creativity and reason.  But sin marred that image, and humans no longer followed the precise pattern of God.  These are the essential earthly things.

God gave the Law, the commandments of Scripture, of the heavenly things to humanity through the Hebrew nation as a mirror to see that marred image.  But now the Hebrew nation, the Jews, were trying to use the mirror, the Law, as a tool to clean themselves of unrighteousness.  I do not know anyone who successfully used a mirror to make themselves clean.  A mirror only reflects the light; in this case, the mirror, the Law could only show the sin, and the Law could not heal people from sin.

  To redeem and cleanse humanity and heal people from sin, God sent Jesus to become the pathway to righteousness.  Jesus was and is an answer to prayer.  Jesus said the way to the restored image of God, to live forever, was by believing in Him and accepting without hesitation the life He would offer through His flesh and blood.   Jesus was again speaking of his journey to the resurrection.  But profound arrogance blinded the Jews.  They could only conceive of spiritual things through the mirror of the Law and not through the Lawgiver standing before them.  Arrogance about sin remains with us today.

Despite the profound arrogance of the Jews, Jesus' purpose compelled Him to speak of spiritual things.  “53 Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them’” (John 6:53-56).  Jesus’ message never wavered.  Jesus had come to give eternal life and that life required the presence of Jesus to be found in each person.  Salvation was not about the Law because no matter how someone lived, that mirror of the Law would only show their sin, not cure it.  But with Christ, a sinless person living within the believer, the mirror, when used by the believer, would reflect the image of the sinless Christ.

Jesus then spoke the words the Jews could not accept, but Jesus’ disciples needed to hear.  “57 ‘Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever’” (John 6:57-58).  This was Jesus’ teaching on spiritual things.  Jesus gives life.  Activities in the flesh, such as doing earthly things to achieve righteousness, lead to death.

I can only imagine how quiet the synagogue became that day.  The Jews’ grumbling stopped.  The disciples sat motionless.  All eyes were fixed on Jesus.  Then, somewhere in the back of the synagogue, Jesus’ followers began looking at each other and saying, “60 ‘This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?’’ (John 6:60).  “61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, ‘Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, ‘This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.’  66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him” (John 6:61-66).  The quietness of the synagogue remained.  The voices heard earlier were replaced by the shuffling of feet as people left and went home.  It was one thing to take Jesus’ free meal, but it was something entirely different to follow Jesus without hesitation or reservation.

Finally, perhaps with just Jesus and his twelve apostles remaining in the synagogue, Jesus said to them, “67 ‘You do not want to leave too, do you?’  68 Simon Peter answered him [Jesus], ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God’” (John 6:67-68).

What, then, do we make of this profound spiritual teaching from Jesus? I think there are just two things I want to emphasize today.  First, Jesus made an outrageous claim.  Jesus claimed to be one with the Father, making Himself God.  The Jews reacted with anger, believing they should kill Jesus for His claim. The Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, had spoken of such a day for Jewish people.  Isaiah wrote, “13 All your children will be taught by the Lord, and great will be their peace” (Isaiah 54:13).  Now, Jesus claimed God was teaching the people, but significant was their distress, not their peace.  Why were the people, especially the Jewish ruling council, in distress about Jesus’ teachings?  The Jews were distressed because they believed Jesus was a rabbi from Nazareth, not God’s Son from heaven.  The Jews were distressed because Jesus’ words conflicted with the sense of God they had created for themselves.  The Jews were distressed because to accept Jesus meant their lives would have to change, and they did not want to change.  Because the Jews distressed themselves, they did not receive the peace by being taught by God as promised in Isaiah’s prophecy.

How about you?  Does Jesus’ teaching distress you or bring you peace?  Jesus’ teachings distress the world, even though many nonbelievers think Jesus was a great moral teacher.  But Jesus was not a great moral teacher.  Jesus was and is God.  I want to share a quote from the atheist-turned-Christian writer C. S. Lewis. ““I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”  Our first point is that we must decide who this Jesus is making his way to the cross and resurrection.  Is Jesus God, or is he only a man?  Your answer determines your life.  If Jesus was just a man, Jesus points out clearly that your life will be like the ancient Hebrews.  You will eat manna, bread if you will, and will die.  If Jesus was and is God, He offers Himself that you may have abundant life now and forever.  But you must choose.

If you follow Jesus as God, then Jesus has some stern words for you. You must eat his flesh and drink his blood.  What does Jesus mean?  Jesus must provide us with the strength of faith and spiritual life on our journey through life.  This is the second point.

Jesus was clear. He did not come to fill our stomachs with perishable bread. His mission was not to end the suffering of world hunger but to end the suffering of separation from God. To end such suffering, Jesus would go to the cross, and God would demonstrate His power over death, our most feared enemy, by raising Jesus to life on resurrection day.  The resurrection of Jesus would prove Jesus’ claim that to live, we must never be separated from Him.  Perhaps today, we should think differently about the words of the Lord’s prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread.”  Give us this day, not our daily ration of manna, but Jesus, the bread of life, for this day we may live.

I have met many distressed people and counseled a fair number. Every one of them wanted peace. Many of those people have not received peace because they choose to eat manna.  They do not genuinely accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  Sadly, they will live in distress and die separated from God.  Others who were distressed now live in peace because they received Jesus as their bread of life.  Do they struggle with difficulties and illness?  Of course, they do.  We all do. But we can still be at peace if we allow ourselves to consume and take up the bread of life fully.  Peter said it well.  “[Jesus] You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68b-69).  Can you say this about Jesus?  If so, then be at peace and live.  Let us pray.