Sermons on John (Page 5)
The Truth Behind Our Excuses (John 12:42-43)
There were many Jewish leaders who believed on Jesus, but they did not say this openly because they would lose their positions, be kicked out of the Synagogue, and ostracized by the Jewish community. They had “good” reasons Spurgeon once listed the “good” reasons Moses should have stayed an Egyptian as opposed to identifying himself with the people of God. The same thing applies here. There are many “good” reasons these people had to stay secret Christians. Think of all…
Are You Blind? (John 12:37-41)
Any honest reader of John’s Gospel would be asking the question, “Why don’t these people believe in Jesus after seeing all these miracles?” John answers this question. Their unbelief is a fulfillment of prophecy The people did not understand that the Messiah would die to deliver His people. In Isaiah 53, Isaiah prophesied that that is exactly what the Messiah would do; however, he begins that prophecy by stating that no one would believe his report. Through the inspiration of…
Walk in the Light (John 12:32-36)
Jesus proclaims that as the Son of Man, He is going to be crucified. The people are confused and ask Him two questions. One, doesn’t the Bible say that the Messiah will reign forever? Two, what do you mean by Son of Man? Jesus does not answer their questions As a student of the Bible, I personally find these questions to be very compelling. I personally would like to hear Jesus go through the Old Testament and give a detailed…
Only the Gospel (John 12:28-33)
After Jesus has asked God to glorify His name, God speaks audibly from heaven. What follows this miraculous incident is very instructive for us today. They are still blind Even though God spoke audibly from heaven, they still did not see the truth. Some even decided that God’s voice must have been thunder. Others decided that an angel was speaking to Jesus even though Jesus is clear that God was speaking to them. We so often place our hopes in…
Dying to Self (John 12:20-29)
While He is in Jerusalem some Greeks come to see Jesus. Jesus teaches them and His disciples the true meaning of His life and how to find meaning in our own lives. Seeds as an illustration Jesus speaks of planting a seed in the ground. In doing so, the seed will cease to exist or die. However, this seed will produce a plant that will grow to produce fruit. If the seed refuses to die it will always be fruitless;…
The Wrong Type of King (John 12:12-19)
Jesus enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey; the crowds recognize this as a fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy. This man who had the power to raise the dead was their King! They joyfully bring Him into Jerusalem with shouts of praise. However, these same people five days later would demand the crucifixion of their King and declare that they had no king but Caesar. How could so many people change their minds so quickly? The King the Jews wanted The Jews…
Spiritual Blindness (John 11:49-57)
As the Jewish leaders are fretting over what to do about Jesus Caiaphas stands and tells them that Jesus must die. He tells them that Jesus must die for the nation and that His death will unite the people of God who are scattered all over the earth. Beware of the man who knows everything Caiaphas begins his speech by deriding the other Jews as knowing nothing; he is now going to enlighten them with his wisdom. We must beware…
Valuing Jesus (John 11:45-48)
Jesus has just raised Lazarus from the dead. Many people witnessed this event, but they had very different reactions. Some people believed that He was the Messiah; others plotted to kill Him for gaining such a big following. They all knew the truth We have a wrong understanding of what it means to believe in Jesus. We often view belief in Jesus as intellectual assent to the historical truth that Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the…
Open Confession of Sin (John 3:19-21)
As we seek to have victory over habitual sins, the questions becomes, “How do I break the hold this sin has on me?” Seek help We often deceive ourselves into thinking that we actually want salvation or victory over sin. Most often we want our reputation restored, the feelings of guilt to go away, escape from consequences, etc. This is clearly seen in that we will not even so much as ask others to pray for us. We will not…
Happy in God (John 4)
As we seek to live for God’s glory our desires for sin seem to constantly trouble us. Is there any hope? Can these desires be turned off? The woman at the well found Something Jesus uses the physical thirst of the woman at the well to show her that she is spiritually thirsty as well. She is trying to fill the thirst of her soul with sexual immorality. However, after her encounter with Jesus she is so satisfied that she…
Living for God’s Glory (John 15:5)
As we truly begin to examine our hearts in light of Scripture the Spirit of God will begin to stir within us a desire to be different than what we are. Only Jesus can change us As we try to overcome our sin it becomes painfully obvious that only Jesus Christ can deliver us from our sin. As this truth dawns on us we can become increasingly frustrated that He does not come and instantly deliver us and change us.…
The Church – Membership
Why do churches have membership? What is the purpose of church membership? Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.Acts 2:41 It is very clear in the New Testament that the church knew who was born again and who was not. They kept track of other believers and watched over each others’ souls. They only received into membership baptized believers in Christ. Verily, verily, I say…