Speaker 1: 0:00

Well, good morning church. It is good to be here and to be feeling better. Most of you know that I was not feeling too well the last few weeks, and last Sunday I was here and we had our members meeting, but it was difficult for me. I am feeling significantly better, so thank you for your prayers and it is good to come to the Word today. In just a moment I'm going to read our passage, and our passage is going to be in John, chapter 12. So if you have your Bibles and you want to turn there, go ahead and open there. But before I read, I just want to say a couple preliminary remarks. So this text right here. So this text right here John 12, verses 36b through 50, it was really like 37, but there's like half of a verse there that got divided in a weird spot. These verses right here are the end of Jesus's public ministry in the book of John.

Speaker 1: 1:05

Okay, so, so this. Actually, we actually originally, when we first laid out the, the plan for preaching through the gospel of John, this was where we were going to take. Our break was after this text, and we've decided that we're going to do one more for a variety of reasons. So, pastor Ricky next week is going to, is going to go with, uh, to go through this text on Jesus washing the disciples' feet in chapter 13. But you'll see today, as we dig into this text and I want to say these comments before I read the text I'm going to call the title today no Neutral Ground, and we're going to talk about Jesus basically drawing a line in the sand. And Jesus is going to say, hey, you're either here with me or you are over there, and so after this, the rest of his time is spent with his disciples, and then on trial and so forth, and then on the cross. But this is the last time he is getting to speak and it follows all the previous weeks that we've gone through of the various miracles that Jesus has done, culminating in that greatest miracle that he performed in the raising of Lazarus after having been dead in the tomb for four days, but really kind of starting a series of signs that perhaps was most poignantly illustrated through the healing of the blind man. And so I want you, as I read this text, to keep in mind that blind man, the one who could not see, because what you're going to see here is that there is nobody that Jesus is talking to that has the excuse that they don't have enough evidence. They have the evidence they need to make a decision, and we're going to read about the decisions. You see, john is ultimately working us to that big purpose. You remember that purpose statement in John 20? The purpose why John wrote this book was so that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you would have life in his name. That's why John wrote it, and so all of John's accumulation of Jesus's life stories, these events. John is arranging them in such a way that they culminate in these statements.

Speaker 1: 3:46

Here and throughout it, you have a lot of people responding to Jesus. They encounter Jesus, they see a piece of evidence and they give some kind of response. Well, here in this text, I want you to pay attention to the response of these people who now, at this point, after Jesus coming into the city with the triumphal entry that Pastor Ian preached a couple weeks ago, they are all hearing the stories of Jesus. None of his miracles are a secret at this point. They are all being said, they are all being told, and if you are here, you know everything that we know in the gospel of John. You know all of these stories, so keep that in mind as I read these verses, starting at the end of verse 36. At the end of verse 36.

Speaker 1: 4:45

When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him. So that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled. Lord, who has believed what he heard from us and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore, they could not believe, for again, isaiah said he has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them. Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. Nevertheless, many, even of the authorities, believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees, they did not confess it so they would not be put out of the synagogue, for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

Speaker 1: 6:05

And Jesus cried out and said whoever believes in me believes not in me, but in him, who sent me, and whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If anyone hears my words and does not keep them Anyone hears my words and does not keep them I do not judge him, for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge. The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day, For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment what to say and what to speak, and I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say, as the father has told me, this is God's word. God, thank you for this text and thank you for the Gospel of John and that we can come to this here. Help us now to receive these words, help us to learn from them, to internalize them and for them to shape us to be more and more like this Jesus who we've sung about and praised and given testimony to through our singing. But now, as we come to his word, help us to hear, help us to see, give us eyes, lord, remove our blindness. Make Jesus clear. In his name, we pray Amen.

Speaker 1: 8:40

So that text that, as presented in the Gospel of John, those are the last public words of Jesus. It's like, you know, you have the Western movie or whatever, and the guy pulls out the gun or whatever and says any last words, right? Why? Well, because last words are important words. Is there anything you need to say? Like, oh there's laundry in the washing machine, you better put it in the dryer. Maybe that's really important to you, and so those are going to be your last words. I don't know, but these are Jesus's last public ministry words and they are culminating everything that John has presented up till now. So they are not in any way insignificant and, like I said, I'm titling this message no Neutral Ground, because what Jesus is essentially doing here with these words is he is ultimately drawing a line in the sand.

Speaker 1: 9:48

Drawing a line in the sand is a common phrase that we are familiar with, but I want you to just think about that phrase for just a moment. It's something that also gets used in movies and TV shows and things like that, and a lot of times it's not literal. I can think of an example where it's very literal in this. This is a movie from my childhood. That probably wasn't a real great movie but I enjoyed it the movie Hook. And in the movie Hook Peter Pan had been lost from Neverland for a long time and then he is brought back, kind of as like this savior figure right, and there's someone that has kind of taken his place named Rufio, and Rufio eventually like literally draws a line in the sand with the sword and he's like are you with me or are you with him? And the lost boys are there and they're kind of going back and forth, back and forth oh yeah, we're with him, no, we're with you, until ultimately, in the end, even Rufio himself goes onto Peter Pan's side. They're like, yeah, you may be no longer a boy, you may be a very different person, but you're still him. You are the one we need to deliver us and to save us in this place.

Speaker 1: 11:11

The thing about a line in the sand is you can't straddle it, you can't be neutral. There's no like demilitarized zone between you know. Maybe you know I'm going to kind of be sort of like with Jesus, but also sort of not. You're one way or you're the other, and that's what Jesus is presenting here, that you can not remain neutral about Jesus. His words will either save you or judge you, depending on how you respond. Judge you depending on how you respond. This isn't an abstract, theological idea. This is the crisis that is at the heart of this final moment of Jesus' public ministry. He's about to turn and have private instruction with his disciples, but these are his last words. Because here's the thing you cannot, I cannot, nobody can encounter Jesus and remain neutral. It doesn't exist. You're either his or you are not. So again, this is like the big idea here for this text that you can't remain neutral about Jesus. His words will either save you or judge you, depending on how you respond.

Speaker 1: 12:40

So we're going to look from this text and it's going to be a little mixed around in how we approach the text. It's going to be a little mixed around in how we approach the text, but I hope to draw out three ways that this is true, that this is presented in this text, and we're going to look at this text in, I think, the way that Jesus is presented by John. You see, jesus is presented by John as the very revelation of God. Now we're doing a class right now on the book of Revelation. Right, the book of Revelation. You know what that word means. Revelation it's not. You know the end times. It's not the last book of the Bible. It is a revealing of who Jesus is.

Speaker 1: 13:25

How did John start his book? He said in the beginning was the word that Jesus himself is the revelation, or the revealing of God to man. And so what do we see here? Well, we see here that Jesus has been clearly, absolutely revealed and that there is nobody in this text without excuse. There is nobody in this text that can say, oh, I don't have enough signs, oh, jesus hasn't fulfilled enough.

Speaker 1: 14:05

No, to choose not to believe at this point in this text is a choice to say, despite the signs, despite the evidence, despite everything that has been seen, jesus is not the Messiah. Jesus is not the Messiah. Let's put him to death, let's do away with him. It's why, as we look towards next week, where it's Palm Sunday next week and we already had the Palm Sunday message preached to us, so it's fresh on our minds it's why there is a bitter sweetness in Jesus being worshiped with Hosanna, hosanna and all the palm leaves and everything, because he is coming in to be rejected, to be killed, to die on a cross. Yet it is that very sacrifice on the cross that means that Jesus can give us life, that he delivers us and he saves us. So I want to look at all of this in the face of the revelation of Jesus, revealing who he is as God, the Son.

Speaker 1: 15:27

And I want to look first at this persistent unbelief in the face of that revelation, persistent unbelief in the face of revelation. You would say, well, hey, these people saw all these signs. How could they not believe? But they don't right. Look at verse 37. What did it say? Again, though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe.

Speaker 1: 15:54

John's not talking about people who haven't heard of Jesus. He's talking about people who watched him heal the sick, feed multitudes and raise the dead, yet they still don't believe. This exposes something important for us to realize, and it's something that we, I think, struggle with as Christians. So, as Christians, we know that our task that has been given to us is to proclaim Jesus right, to tell who he is, to tell what he has done, to share the gospel, to see people come to faith so that they would hear that. We know that that's the task that's been given to us, and so often we feel, as we go about that task, that it becomes our job to convince people to somehow present enough evidence that Jesus becomes undeniable.

Speaker 1: 17:01

But the thing that we see here and this is important is that unbelief is not caused by a lack of evidence. Unbelief is not caused by a lack of evidence. You may be here today and you may not believe, or you're here and you believe. You may interact with someone outside of these walls that doesn't believe and they may even tell you. They may tell you. The reason I don't believe is because there's not enough evidence. Let me tell you something. Let me tell you something there is plenty of evidence that Jesus lived, that he died and that he rose again. There is plenty of evidence. Any other historical fact with that much evidence is reasonable enough to believe. It's not unreasonable to believe that Jesus was born, that he died and that he rose again. Now it's not going to prove beyond a shadow of doubt, in the sense of like, that you don't need faith. You're going to ultimately need faith. You're going to ultimately need faith.

Speaker 1: 18:31

But unbelief is not because the person has not seen enough evidence. Unbelief is because someone does not have faith. If seeing miracles was enough to produce faith, these people would have it. Okay, it's like the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Right, we're familiar with this. He's like go and warn my brothers. What does he say? They have enough evidence, they have all the evidence they need and they still don't believe. If they didn't believe the prophets, they're not going to believe an angel from heaven.

Speaker 1: 19:10

Unbelief is not the result of a lack of evidence. This means a couple things. First of all, it doesn't change our task to proclaim the good news to to proclaim the gospel, but what it does mean is that it does not become our job to change hearts. So often we feel like I have to convince them. No, that's not our job. Our job, our task, is to present, to proclaim, to tell. But we're never going to give people enough evidence that they would believe. Because, I'm telling you, if they're not going to believe, it doesn't matter. If you took their loved one that had been dead for four days in the grave and you raised them up, they still wouldn't believe because they didn't believe here. So don't let that be the thing that burdens you, but also don't let that be the thing that keeps you from proclaiming. Like what if they ask a question I don't know. Then they ask a question you don't know. So what? Still proclaim, still tell who Jesus is?

Speaker 1: 20:30

These people did not believe, despite, in their context, overwhelming evidence. Instead, john shows us that the unbelief that they have is a true heart issue, a spiritual refusal to believe Jesus. It wasn't just intellectual doubt. And in case there was any doubt about that, he doesn't just leave it there, but he goes to Isaiah right. And he goes to Isaiah 53 and quotes verse 1, which says who has believed what he has heard from us and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He is going to a section in Isaiah, known as one of the servant songs, that presents the coming Messiah as one who was going to be sacrificed or one that was going to suffer for the sake of the people. And he teaches us in that text that people are not going to believe. Despite the fact that he came to his own people, despite the fact that he comes to them, they will not receive him. And then he goes and he quotes also from Isaiah, chapter 6, in verse 10. And he says make the heart of this people dull and their ears heavy and blind their eyes lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts.

Speaker 1: 22:04

Now, this can be a difficult truth, and there are difficult truths in this text, but what do we see in Isaiah 6? Well, we see Isaiah essentially being commissioned to a life of preaching the truth to people who were blind and deaf to what he was going to say. It's basically like hey, isaiah, I have a job for you Be a preacher. Oh, and, by the way, nobody will hear you, nobody will believe you're going to have a job for you. Be a preacher, oh, and, by the way, nobody will hear you, nobody will believe you're going to have a fruitless ministry in your life, because these people had spiritual blindness. It's a hard truth, but it is a hard truth that is meant to wake us up, and it's this that if we are left on our own, we will never choose Jesus. It is only by God's goodness that our eyes can be opened.

Speaker 1: 23:22

You remember the blind man, that blind man being healed since birth. That was so crucial in this text, because it was such a poignant illustration of everything from then till now. Because what were these Pharisees, these religious leaders, religious authorities? Poignant illustration of everything from then till now. Because what were these Pharisees, these religious leaders, religious authorities? What were they doing? They were acting as blind as you could be. They had every piece of evidence that they needed, yet they couldn't see.

Speaker 1: 24:07

Let's look at verses 42 and 43. It says nevertheless, many, even of the authorities, believed in him. That sounds good, right, there were even people in the authorities that believed in him. But and I'm going to say this before I read this part on our sermon discussion, we disagreed about how we were going to understand this. But I'm going to, I'm going to, I'm going to, I'm just going to go with the way that I understand it, and and, and I'm going to say that, no matter how you understand it, the point is the same. So let me into this.

Speaker 1: 24:41

So many, even of the authorities, believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees, they did not confess it. So they saw the signs and they said, wow, with those signs, it seems like he really is the Messiah. But for fear of the Pharisees, they didn't confess it. They were not willing to turn in repentance and say, yeah, jesus is the one. Let me turn to him. They were not willing to make that public. They were not willing to confess it so that they would not be put out of the synagogue, for they love the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

Speaker 1: 25:34

I am going to say, though there's the possibility of different opinion I am going to say that these people appear to be not believers, though they believe, they have an element of belief, yet ultimately, in the end, it seems like they are unwilling to confess that Jesus is who he appears to be. So in this passage so in this passage, it's building a case that unbelief persists even with signs. In verse 37, you have those that outright reject Jesus, and then, in verse 42, you have those who have some kind of silent agreement yet won't confess him publicly. So the passage is showing us that the unbelief, despite signs, it will still persist. But here is the thing None of this is a surprise. John uses the prophecy of Isaiah to show something, and that's what we're going to look at right now.

Speaker 1: 26:52

The next point I want to make is this that unbelief does not thwart God's plan, it fulfills it. Unbelief does not thwart God's plan, it fulfills it. Unbelief does not thwart God's plan, it fulfills it. Look with me again. We're going to look at verses 38 through 41. And I want to ask this question why does John quote Isaiah? Let's look at these verses. I'm gonna I'm just read them.

Speaker 1: 27:26

I don't think I have the slides right here, so if you want to jump back, you can otherwise just look at your bibles 38 through 41, so that the word spoken by the prophet isaiah might be fulfilled. Lord, who has believed what he heard from us and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore, they could not believe. So that's important. They could not believe. For again, isaiah said verse 40, he has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart. Lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them. Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory. Whose glory? Because he saw Jesus' glory. That's what John is saying. Isaiah saw his glory and spoke of him.

Speaker 1: 28:37

Look in the book of Isaiah. Isaiah kind of responds. I think it's around verse 11 or so of Isaiah 6. Isaiah responds with a statement and he kind of says, like how long, how long? And there is a response from God to Isaiah. Isaiah's like how long do I have to keep doing this when nobody's going to even listen? And God's response, well, it's several verses, but the first word is perhaps the most important. It starts with until. Why is it important that he starts with until? Well, because that word until means that there is an end. Right, there is an end, and I would submit to you that where John is about to go in this story is where that until sees fulfillment, at least partial, at least some fulfillment that in Jesus there will be people who believe.

Speaker 1: 30:19

It's incredible that what John is saying is that when Isaiah saw the glory of Yahweh in the temple, he was actually seeing in some amazing, miraculous way. He was actually seeing the glory of Jesus. He was the Holy One, high and lifted up. He was the Holy One, high and lifted up. He was the one that Isaiah cried. Woe is me that in some real way, jesus was there and Isaiah saw his glory. So John's point is this that the Jesus whom these crowds reject is the same glorious God that Isaiah saw.

Speaker 1: 31:13

It is a profound statement in the gospel of John and in fact it is profound that in the gospel of John he presents Jesus's words, and in Jesus's words I'm not going to go through all of Jesus's words, but to summarize what he says there in the end of the chapter. He's like hey, it's not my message, it's God's message. Hey, it's not my message, it's God's message. Hey, I am not the judge, god is the judge. Hey, I am not the one who you're rejecting. If you reject me, you're rejecting God. But then he kind of brings it all together and says oh yeah, that actually is my word, yeah, I actually am there.

Speaker 1: 32:05

And that's what John is making clear that in some profound, amazing way, jesus, as the triune God, was actually present when the glory of God was revealed to Isaiah. Does that mean Isaiah fully understood the Trinity or had any concept of it? No, it doesn't mean that. But what it means is that Jesus is God, the Son eternally existent. He was there with Isaiah. He was there at the very revealing of who God is. And so I want to end with a third point, and it's this that Jesus' words bring either salvation or judgment. And we'll see that in verses 44 through 50. Jesus' words bring either salvation or judgment.

Speaker 1: 33:13

The final section here Jesus speaks not just to the crowds that were back then, but he's speaking to us now. These words are just as relevant today. Verse 44,. He cries out. It says whoever believes in me believes not in me, but in him who sent me. He's saying that to believe in Jesus is to believe in God and to reject Jesus is to reject God.

Speaker 1: 33:42

There's no safe, neutral category. There's no way to say, yeah, I believe in God, but I don't believe in Jesus. Let's say this another way. Another way is saying this this completely rejects any kind of notion or concept that, oh, you know, all the roads lead to the same place. You know it could be some other form of who God is, or it could be, you know. All that matters is that you're a good person and in the end, as long as you're a good person and you're following what truth is to you, it all leads to the same place.

Speaker 1: 34:26

That's not the message of John. That's not the message of John at all, but instead it is made clear here that the world is wandering around in utter darkness. What does it say in verse 46? Jesus says I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. You see, being lost in darkness. It's basically the same illustration as being blind, right as not being able to see. We're all there, or we all have been there, but Jesus coming as the light of the world, reveals to us the only way out of darkness. Way out of darkness.

Speaker 1: 35:29

And then verse 48,. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge. What is the judge? That they have? The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. This is why there is no option of neutrality, there is no standing on the line. Jesus is presented as God, the Son, the Savior of the world. You either believe or you don't. There's faith or there is not. Jesus says I have not spoken on my own authority. Verse 39. These are not. These words are not optional. They are the very words of God given for our salvation.

Speaker 1: 36:26

And verse 50 ends with hope. And I know, I know that they are eternal life, jesus' words. In the end, they are either eternal life or they are your judgment. That's what this passage presents. His words will either save you or judge you. So the question is is how do we respond to this truth? How do we respond when the line has been drawn in the sand? How do we respond when the line has been drawn in the sand? Do we cross, do we stand with Jesus or do we stand against?

Speaker 1: 37:31

I realize I'm here preaching to our Christian church, but I also recognize the reality that some of us might be trying to straddle that middle ground. Like I don't know, I'm not convinced. I'm going to say this, that if that's you, you're like I don't know, I'm not convinced, I am going to tell you you will never be convinced. You will never be convinced, not because you won't believe, but because that is not what is going to give you faith. You are never going to have enough evidence that you just oh, it's yeah, I got it, it's there. It is always going to be an act of faith to say, yes, jesus, I believe it is always going to be an act of faith. But what about for those of you who say, yeah, I do believe I've crossed the line, I'm on Jesus' side, great. Now, what does this mean for us in our day-to-day Christian life? I've already made it pretty clear earlier, but I'm going to say it again Our task is to proclaim the gospel until Jesus comes again.

Speaker 1: 39:12

It's one of the lines we regularly say when we gather around the table right that by partaking, we are proclaiming that we are his, that he is real, that he is who he says he is, that we need Him. But are we going from here and also proclaiming that truth? I pray that you are. I pray that we are. I know it's hard, but this does help eliminate some excuses. And let me tell you why. Because it is not up to you to change anyone's heart. It is not up to you to know the case for Christ so clearly that you can just argue anybody into believing. That's not up to you. I'm not saying don't prepare. I'm not saying don't know. I'm not saying don't try to answer questions.

Speaker 1: 40:17

I started out by telling you that believing in Jesus is reasonable, even if it were not true which, as Christians here, we're fully convinced. It is true. Even if it were not true, it is reasonable to believe in Jesus. But you do not have to reason someone into believing. Your job is to proclaim that truth. Your job is to proclaim that truth. But here is where you can have confidence. Is that? The question, then, is not okay? Well, if it's not my job to convince, whose job is it to convince? Well, that is where the Holy Spirit comes in.

Speaker 1: 41:01

The good news is this that there are people out there who, when presented with Christ, will believe. How glorious is that truth that there are people that you interact with, that when they are presented with the evidence not because the evidence is undeniable, but because God moves in their hearts they will believe. So go out and tell people. Tell people that Jesus rose from the dead, that he died and he was buried, and he actually did rise again, again, because as clear an evidence as raising Lazarus was to those people that were there, in the end, our faith rests on the resurrection, that Jesus did not stay in the grave, that he rose again. As we get ready to celebrate that in a couple weeks, I encourage you, spend the next couple weeks proclaiming the truth of who Jesus is. Tell people. Tell people that there is a line in the sand and they can cross it. Let's pray, god. Thank you for today, for your word. Help us. Help us, lord, to know you, to proclaim you, to tell of your goodness. In Jesus' name, we pray.