John 19:1-16
Chapter 19 Verse 1
• Now understand the Jews had brought Jesus to Pilate and demanded that He not be tried…but rather that He’d be put to death. We know that because back in Chapter 18 verse 31 Pilate tries to release Jesus back into the hands of the Jews and what did they say to him, “don’t do that, we don’t have the right of capital punishment”…in other words, “we can’t put Him to death.” And so death is what they wanted…
• But Pilate found no fault in Jesus. We know from the other gospels and even the accounts given in the Book of Acts of this night that Pilate actually tried no less than seven times to release Jesus. Acts 3:13 tells us that “Pilate was determined to let Him go.” He was even urged by his wife, (according to Matthew Chapter 27 verse 19), not to sentence Him…to not even have anything to do with Him because she had had a dream that had freaked her out about the whole situation…
• And so understand what Pilate is trying to do here…the same thing he has tried to do over and over again…by ordering the scourging, Pilate is actually again trying to release Jesus. What’s that? How’s that?
• Well the Jews…they were ravenous, insatiable and they were not ok with Pilate simply finding what they already knew to be true…that this Man, this Jesus was truly without fault!
• We see continually, several times…that Pilate found no fault in Him. Annas had found no fault in Him. Pilate had sent Him to Herod and Herod had returned Him. The simple truth is that they were blood thirsty and nothing was going to dissuade them…and Pilate knew it. So notice, he did not order the execution of Jesus, instead He ordered Him to be scourged.
• Scourging was a form of interrogation. A terrifying form. A shocking and horrendous sentence. The tool of scourging was a cat of nine tails. A leather whip with multiple extremeties lined and embedded with little bits of glass and lead, designed to rip the flesh. The sentence carried a penalty of 40 lashes but in the Roman’s twisted view of mercy, they only would administer 39.
• One was enough to kill a man. As they would lay a stripe across the back, the prisoner would cry out a crime that he had committed. And every time he would call out a crime, the next lash would be a bit less severe. But for every stripe with which a crime was not called out, the next would be more severe. Progressively more intense and forceful.
• This was a very effective sentence for exacting a confession…and so Pilate intended to satisfy the blood thirst of the Jews while also hopefully exciting their compassion for Him as he expected a confession. The confession however had already been given to Pilate. Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you a king?” Jesus confessed, “I am.” There was no more confession to extract and so Jesus silently and without a word…without a defense took all 39 lashes.
• Why? 39 progressively harder stripes across His back…He would have been stretched by chains or chords so that the pain and injury would have been terrible yet He took that loss. Why? For you man…for me. Because He is good. Because His love is so ultimately unstoppable. Man…and if you think upon His lashes, meditate upon His love man and the penalty that He paid to set us free…the Bible says by that you are healed.
• What do you mean healed? Well look, how close can I get to sin without being burned, Matt? Wrong question! The right question is help me understand what my sin cost! Show me the penalty man…the price paid for this bottle of Beam that I can’t seem to put down…the price paid for this illicit relationship that I can’t break off…the price paid for this hateful heart, this bitter and unforgiving attitude that in my weakness, I can’t change…
• I heard a story this past week…a fictional story but interesting in its precept. The story goes that Jesus engaged Satan in a conversation. Satan had a smug smirk on his face and Jesus asked him where he had come from. Satan responded, “I just caught the entire world of people…set me a trap and caught ‘em, all of ‘em.” “What are you going to do with them?” Jesus asked. Satan replied, “oh I’m gonna use them. I’m going to teach them how to marry and then divorce, how to hate, how to envy, how to insult…how to use drugs and drink and curse and destroy themselves. I’m gonna teach them how to use the earth to create guns and bombs and sharp edges and then I’m gonna teach them how to use them against eachother.” Jesus asked him, “and what will you do when you have done all of those things?” “Oh, I’ll kill them,” Satan glared proudly. • Jesus asked him, “how much do you want for them?” “Oh noooo, you don’t want those people. They ain’t no good. Why you’ll take them and they’ll just hate you in return. They’ll spit on you, curse you, beat you and kill you!!! You don’t want those people!”
• “How much,” He asked again. Satan looked at Jesus and hated Him…he sneered back at Jesus, “All of Your tears, all of Your strength, all of Your life, and all of Your blood.” Having named his price, without hesitation, Jesus answered, “Done!”
• If we really believe…if we really truly believe to the point where we can place ourselves there that day, this day…as Jesus took lash after lash…as He was mocked, as He was punched and eventually as nails were driven through His body and He was lifted up to die…If we really believe that He loves us that much to pay that price for us…then how can we continue to toy with sin? How can we continue to ask how much this little sin will cost me or how much will that big sin cost me in the eternal bank of business…we can’t man…to understand the terrible price paid, to understand the lashes He endured is to be healed man from the power of temptation and transgression. His goodness is the only power that can fuel you to turn from sin for real…turn from the trap of evil…and then once you do…you’re free, you’re healed!
• Isaiah 53 says (written 700 years before the birth of Jesus!), “They wounded Him for our transgressions, they bruised Him for our sins, He endured, He suffered the punishment for our peace, and by His stripes…we are healed.’
• Those stripes, each one, bore the weight of my sin. My hand holds the whip…and yet He doesn’t condemn…He doesn’t plead His case…He doesn’t even stop me…He simply loves and so He takes it, and takes it, and takes it…39 times…until the Bible says He was injured worse than any man in history…man Jesus, for real, this Man…Jesus Christ…He is my Hero! He is strength! He is love! He is compassion! He is Truth! He is righteous! He is God and man I long to be more like Him.
• I don’t serve Him for what I can get man…I serve Him because He’s legit! He is worthy! He is the King of all kingdoms and the Lord of all authority and eternal life! And when I follow after my flesh, when I just walk in and out of sin like its nothing then the Bible says that I walk right away from Him. I deny all of those things that I just said…
• We look at our lives and we wonder why things are so hard or so warped or so broken or so not where we want to be and we wonder how God would allow this to happen…while as a people for years we’ve been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government, get out of our entertainment, get out of our decisions…man to just get out of our lives. You know, just let me live my life! And being the gentleman that He is, look He has no choice but to back out! He cannot force His love and His mercy and His promises upon us!! And then we call out for blessing…how can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone? That is the very demand we scream to the heavens as we dance in and out of sin!
Chapter 19 Verses 2 – 4
• Pilate is dumbfounded. He is in awe. He’s never EVER seen anything like this Man. 39 stripes…no words. And even now, as a crown of thorns is shoved into his forehead…Jesus stands. What manner of man is this? One stripe cripples the mightiest of men and here this One stands…no words, no defense!
• Have you ever heard stories of miraculous strength? Like maybe that a mom and her kids were in a car accident and one of the children was pined under the car so the mom just grabs the car and lifts it off of them to free her child? I think we all have right? Something like that…well imagine 7B of your children are trapped…You see His strength…everlasting, immeasurable right now…why? Because His love is the same…and Pilate witnessed that first hand. • And so he goes back out to the Jews, “behold I’m letting Him go!” • And look at this crown given to Him. The King of righteousness the King of sinlessness…was given a crown of…sin. Sin? Yes throughout the Old Testament the thorn is a type, a picture, a result of sin. God handed to Adam his curse in Genesis 3 and said “for your sake the ground is cursed and shall bring forth thorns”…none until then apparently in the Garden of Eden…and even in the first 39 chapters of Isaiah, thorns are mentioned 11 times in connection with the transgression of God’s people but then, the final time its mentioned (and the only time thorns are mentioned beyond chapter 40), God says in Isaiah 55 that the thorns shall be replaced with the cypress tree! A picture of peace and beauty.
• And here is that type displayed. That punishment of Adam fully paid as they prepare Him for His execution by crowning Him not the King of Kings but the King of sin! Wow…I wonder how you handle an unfair crown of thorns? When you’re mistreated, when you’re accused or mocked…when all that you’ve done may even be righteous yet they crown you not with the crown of respect but with the crown of reject. Do you defend? Do you throw the crown in their face? Or, do you stand in strength and endure the blows for the sake of the Father’s glory? Quite telling in those times whose glory you are most concerned with…
Chapter 19 Verse 5
• And so we see Pilate’s heart. “Are you a king?” “Yes Pilate, I am King of all Kingdoms and Lord of all Lords...” Yet Pilate brings Him out and announces Him as…man…tragic.
Chapter 19 Verse 6
• Again, Pilate tries to release Him…and it’s interesting here that Pilate goes on record and verifies the perfection of Jesus. He says “I find NO FAULT in Him.” Not “I find that He is innocent of the charges,” no he says “no fault.” And that’s intriguing because that statement, that fact has never been disputed by any historian, any cynic, any atheist on record. They’ll deny Him, but you never hear them deny His flawlessness. So cool.
Chapter 19 Verse 7
• Whoa whoa whoa whoa WHOA! They knew it all along! See that! So many times Jesus was so very clear yet they denied…they played dumb…they turned a deaf ear…but oh the truth, they understood…”He made Himself the Son of God!”
• Jesus never claimed deity the cultist insists. God has no Son the Koran states…but here it is clear and plain…the people of that time, as He walked among them, as He taught in the open air, as He performed wondrous miracles and as He loved, man…they knew…they understood clearly…that is why they killed Him…
Chapter 19 Verses 8 – 11
• So Pilate snatches Jesus back into private and filled with fear He demands of Jesus, “Where are You from?!” And Jesus simply remains silent…bloody, beaten, crown of thorns…man this must have been quite a nightmare for Pilate…
• And then He says, “Jesus, don’t you know that I have power over You?” And I love how Jesus responds. “Son, that power you have, what you think you’re doing…has very little to do with You…It’s My Father’s will, therefore I will rest!”
• And notice Pilate’s so-called “power.” According to law, if he found Jesus to be innocent, he’d have to release him. If he found no guilt in him, per the judicial code of Rome, then he was to be set free! But what does Pilate say? “I find no fault in this Man!” And yet here, “I have the power to crucify You!” Oh Pilate, your power is smoke and mirrors.
• In truth, you’re a pawn. You’re controlled by the ravenous masses. The law means nothing now. Only your own neck. You call that power? Jesus doesn’t. Here Jesus stands, innocent yet offering His own neck…THAT is power. Pilate should have said, “don’t you know that I am so full of fear that I’m going to have to crucify You unless You do something!!! I mean float or levitate or wipe these Jews out or something…”
• But Jesus was not there to be released. He was there to release us man and so He, just for a moment, comforts Pilate…Pilate, the one who delivered me to you has the greater…or the elder sin.
• Now Jesus is not saying that one sin and another sin are any different in penalty…because James 2:10 is clear and many other parts of the Bible are clear, that if you do not keep the whole law, if you break just one of God’s commandments then you are guilty of the entire law. One sin doesn’t condemn you to hell while another is allowed…that’s preposterous. And that’s not what Jesus is saying here at all…what He’s doing is speaking to Pilate’s heart.
• Pilate, I know you are afraid and that you have tried to release me seven times…I see your heart…the one that delivered me to you, the one that put you in this position…Judas…Caiphas…their hearts are black and full of death…I see you Pilate…
• And I believe this later caught up with Pilate. Because we have record that says later in life, Pilate committed suicide (Josephus describes his removal by Tiberius while Eusebius records his suicide…legend however tells of a horrific scene before Tiberius which resulted in Pilate’s suicide and burial first in the river Tiber, then in the river Rhone which is called “Via Gehennae” or “Road to Gehenna.”)
• But notice this is Jesus’ last testimony before the nails. His last statement to Pilate, to you, to me, to eternity and all of the heavenly host before carrying His own cross to His own crucifixion…and what does He say? God is on the throne and His will is absolutely everything!
• Pilate I have divine authority to judge the hearts of men…as I speak to the very sin in your own heart…the sin of fear and as I speak to the sin in their heart…the sin of blasphemy and hate…yet the purposes from above, the authority of My Father, the sovereignty of His will…is not now and will never be overturned by some man or some nation that believes they are something…
• And now notice, the last word of our Lord before accomplishing our release from eternal hopelessness…sin…in the Greek “hamartea”…violation, offense, betrayal, wrong…mistake…He calls out the name of our failure and then carries it to its grave!!
Chapter 9 Verses 12 – 16
• As Pilate sat down on that judgment seat to make this decision, the irony is that he himself was being judged on the basis of his response to Jesus Christ. So too, some of you will sit back and say, “I’m going to analyze, scrutinize, and evaluate Jesus Christ.” When in reality you’re not judging Him, but your reaction to Him is judging you because He is the King of kings regardless of what you decide.
• He’s going to have His way whether you get on board or not. You see as you wait to decide whether you are going to choose Him or not, follow Him or not, place your life in His hands or not…the judgment seat you’re occupying right now is that of your own judgment.
• He would say to you today…choose Me and in so doing…choose life…see what I’ll do in and through you and ultimately…I’ll see you forever, in eternity…in My Father’s house…
John 19 vs 1-16
Calvary Chapel Cherry Creek
December 9, 2012 • Pastor Matt Korniotes
John 21 vs 15-25
February 3, 2013 • Pastor Matt Korniotes
Chapter 21 Verse 15 •What we’re about to see here is an exchange between the resurrected Jesus and a very broken Peter. We’ve known Peter to be impulsive…we’ve also seen him reckless and brash…if you recall when Jesus was carrying around the water basin that night in the upper room…Peter objected… •When many began to fall away from following Jesus, John tells us in Chapter 6 that Jesus looked at Peter and said, “Will you leave Me also?” And Peter replied magnificently, “Where else would we go? You have the words of everlasting life!” And Mark tells us in Chapter 8 of his Gospel that Jesus once asked Peter who he said Jesus was and Peter responded immediately and brilliantly, “You are the Christ!” Truly a high point… •But then directly after that in Mark Chapter 8 we read how Jesus told the disciples of all the things that the Christ should suffer for the cleansing and rescuing of all men…and what did Peter do? He took Jesus aside and Mark tells us…in an act of open confrontational impulse…he rebuked Jesus! And Jesus’ response was certainly alarming, “Get behind Me Satan for you are not mindful of the things of God, but of the things of men.” •You see that was Peter’s issue all along…and that’s our issue also…as Peter shows us precisely what it means to honor God with your lips but indeed have a heart far from Him. To be mindful, preoccupied with the things of this world, the issues of today and now rather than the things of God. •Well what are the things of God? That we may be mindful of them? Simply put, His will, His ways! For you and I to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength…yet what do we often do? We love ourselves with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength! Don’t we? We think we are all that! Man that God would have us be happy and have what we want? Man we may not be as mindful of the things of God as we think… •(Billy Graham Funny Story). You see His plan and will for each of us is that our minds would be utterly filled with thoughts and concerns of His glory, His grace…and our strength, our energy to be used not to please ourselves and gain worldly junk, or some sort of name or earthly credentials or accomplishment…but to be spent worshipping Him in our moments, in our circumstance and our situation…in our arguments and in our trials… •What are the things of God? To know Him…and to know Him is to love Him…and to love each other just as Jesus has loved us…and how’s that? How did He love us? In what manner? Yes, you are thinking now and its true, He loved us all the way to the cross…but have you ever considered that the manner in which He loved us was utterly, completely, whole-heartedly one-sided!? The Bible says that while we were His enemies, Christ loved us to death! •That is to be mindful of the things of God man…to grow so close to Him, to know Him so personally, to be filled with His Spirit, the Spirit of power, a sound mind, purpose, eternity and love to the point that they don’t have to love you back, they don’t have to treat you kindly…in fact they can scourge you, spit on you, mock you, shove a crown of thorns into your forehead….and yet, your love for them remains…and beyond simply remaining, it-is-shown! •The mind of Christ, the Bible would call it…the fruit of the Holy Spirit, God’s will…Peter had issues. But it’s interesting here as we peer into this final scene of John’s Gospel, where they are…they are on the beach around what? A fire of coals. •No doubt as Peter sat there with the Lord he was reminded of another fire of coals. One we find in John 18:18. The fire of coals where Peter stood and warmed himself, mindful of his physical discomfort, driven by his fear and faithlessness…yet here this fire of coals roasting this meal, at dawn on the beach, prepared by whom? Jesus. •Peter, I wanted to teach them, you rebuked Me. I wanted to wash your feet, you refused Me. I wanted you there with Me, you denied Me. I told you to wait for Me, you went fishing. I wonder how deep was Peter’s sorrow as he sat there at this fire of coals…entirely exposed. I wonder if he was prepared to hear words of rebuke that morning…you know, in a way, he probably even desired it… •Just like Peter I find myself so utterly sick of me sometimes. Sick of my failures, sick of having to live in this futile state, ya know…sick of not being good enough…but God’s grace washes over me as I sit with Him and peer into my fire of http://coals...in absolute honesty with the One who already knows me completely…no doubt as Peter was this morning…broken as he must have realized, he must have thought upon that last fire of coals that he was around…warming himself, mindful of his own comfort… •And then utter honesty with the Lord. What do you mean by honesty, Matt? Well understand, we cannot be healed until we are first honest. If you continue in thinking that he’s the problem or she’s the problem, or they are the issue for your discomfort, for your pain, for your anger, for your sin…then you are lost. Unless you are willing to turn from your sin, you are not willing to turn towards the Lord. And what we’ll see here in this account is a great healing, a great restoring…an utter renewal of Peter because he is indeed willing to be exposed…he is, maybe for the first time…honest. •You see it’s in the Greek. Hidden for you to find by John…by the Lord…as Jesus says to Peter, “Simon, do you agapeo Me more than these?” Now agapao is the Greek word for supreme, ultimate love…self releasing and unconditional love…it is the love that God has for us…it is the love displayed upon the cross the of Calvary. Agapeo describes a love that is in love with giving love. It is the love that we are to have and to show and to live out as disciples of Jesus Christ. It is the love that fills our hearts when we are born again. •"Peter, do you agapeo Me more than these?" What were the "these"? In the Greek the word is tuton which literally means, these things, these matters…maybe He’s referring to the fish, the breakfast…maybe the fishing…Peter’s livelihood. "Do you love Me more than your livelihood, Peter? Do you love Me more than the great success in your chosen profession? Having the height of success that morning in carrying to shore 153 large fish, do you love Me more than that, Peter? •Or the "these" could be referring to the other disciples because recall the conversation Peter had with Jesus in front of them that we read about in Matthew Chapter 26 and Mark Chapter 14 when Peter said, “even if all of these leave you, I will never…” In essence saying, "Lord, I am more faithful, and I love You more than the others…" Yet pride comes before the fall…and Peter had fallen... •And Peter replied, “Yes, Lord. You know that I phileo you.” Lord, You know. I love that. Brokenness. Contriteness. So many say they are the way they are…they live the way the live…because of someone else…so many say they know nothing of the Word of God because they have no time…so many say that they struggle with this sin or that sin because of what happens to them or what they’re around or whatever…but God has called us to accountability, responsibility and truth. If we are honest, our own failures and sins are our own…they are not the choices of others…they are OUR choices man…and Peter here is so honest. Jesus says, do you love me unconditionally, Peter replies…no. •“Lord, my heart is filled with fondness for you. But You know and I know that I have no strength. He’s basically saying here, before I told you I loved you more than any other, then my life denied you…I won’t do that again, I can’t…I’d rather be exposed and close to you then dishonest and following you from afar…therefore, others may agapeo You…but of them all, I am the least…I am fond of you Lord. •Many of us play the game that Peter is no longer willing to play. Lord You are my everything, My strength, My Lord and My God…then Mark 9 hits…and we aren’t willing to die to sin and self. When it comes to sin in our lives, when it comes to money, when it comes to booze, when it comes to sex out of wedlock, when it comes to drugs, when it comes to loving and serving others and living our lives not for ourselves and our own comforts but for the Lord’s will and worship…we so readily deny Him. And we think it normal. We call upon His grace…we are so busted… •We say we’ve received grace? Man, I’m under grace! We proclaim our own lack of relationship…Biblical grace, will always, always, always result in purposeful obedience to God’s ways. It’s Romans Chapter 1 Verse 5. “Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith!” What do you mean, Matt? That doesn’t even make sense. I thought that grace meant that we are free and forgiven? It does and you are! You are free to live man! Live a life free from the deception and decay of evil. •Charles H. Spurgeon once noted, “A man who has within him this hope of perfection (which grace is) finds that it does not give him license to sin. I have heard a thoughtful person say, “If I had a good hope of being saved and knew that I would go to Heaven, I would live as I liked.” Perhaps you would, but then you have not that hope—and God will not give it to you while you are in such a state that you would like to live in sin. If a Christian could live as he liked, how would he live? Why, he would live absolutely without sin! If the Lord would indulge the newborn nature of His own children with unrestricted liberty, in that unrestricted liberty they would run after happiness! The unrenewed heart would run to sin, but the renewed heart quite as eagerly loves to obey the Lord. •Folks call upon grace as a license to sin all the time and in so doing they themselves pronounce their disagreement with the Word of God. Peter won’t go there…instead He is honest with the Lord, emptied of his own pride for the first time in his life…and in so doing, he is ready to take on the greatest honor of responsibility for the Lord. What? •I know what you’re thinking. He just told God that he didn’t love Him…true, but understand…he just showed God that he loves Him so much, he’s no longer willing to trust in himself and risk dishonoring the Lord! “Lord, You know!” Epic! This honesty, this brokenness, this love lived out…is to believe, is to follow, is what it means to press in to the Lord…only this love, none other. Peter has offered the other…the superficial love, the lip service lover, the passion filled pledge of allegiance…and he has failed…here in his seemingly darkest moment, he has finally turned the corner…absolutely poured out in front of the Lord and thus now, the Lord can use him! He’ll fail no more… •“Tend My sheep” the Lord replies. Well done man. You’ve finally began to learn to trust in Me Peter. To trust that I won’t forsake you…that I’m worth it…that all this life of being big Peter…living for you…its all worthless…time for your life to change man…welcome to My service…and then a second time… Chapter 21 Verse 16 •Again, Jesus asks agapeo, Peter responds phileo…”Tend My sheep, Peter.” Quit fishing, turn from the frustrations of your wanderings Peters…feed My little ones and tend my flock… Chapter 21 Verse 17 •A third and final time…Simon, son of Jonah…little boy…are you ready to grow up? Do you love Me? This time…phileo. Jesus meets him right where he’s at…Peter, are you fond of Me? This time Peter weeps…he knows full well what is happening here…he knows that he can’t answer this high call of the Lord to unconditional, powerful love…and he is grieved and he says to Jesus, “You know all thing…You’ve always known…You know that my wretched heart is capable of nothing but to be fond of you…” And Jesus no doubt places His hand upon Peter and finally responds…feed ‘em son… Chapter 21 Verses 18 - 19 •“Peter, when you were young, you wanted to give your life for Me. But you didn’t. You backed down. Well look, you won’t again and when you’re old, they’ll carry you off…and do the same to you as they did to Me.” But Peter wouldn’t have that…Peter would demand to be crucified upside down proclaiming to not be worthy enough to even die as Jesus died. •And Jesus says, even so, “Follow Me…” Chapter 21 Verses 20 – 23 •A bit of competitiveness between Peter and John? Possibly. A bit of companionship between Peter and John? Maybe…but ultimately Jesus clears it all up for Peter…You want to make it? Eyes up son! Doesn’t matter what I’ve asked or said of anyone else…you are to follow Me…no one, nothing else… •And notice Jesus doesn’t say John would live until He returned…He simply said John’s days were in His hand…and church history tells us John was poisoned, boiled and exiled before he would finally die…but Jesus doesn’t tell this to Peter…why would He? Chapter 21 Verses 24 – 25 •And thus we conclude John’s Gospel. But John says, “hey, this is just the beginning of the story…your story…of your great and awesome relationship with the One of whom I have written…”
John 21 vs 1-14
January 27, 2013 • Pastor Matt Korniotes
Chapter 21 Verse 1 •Now this is intriguing because John doesn’t say, “Jesus came to them.” He says, “Jesus showed Himself to the disciples.” What’s significant about that is the idea there in the Greek is that Jesus was already there with them, yet unseen. The word in the Greek is phaneroo which quite literally means, “to make visible what is invisible.” •And I dig that because just as Jesus was at all times with them yet at this moment John says He simply physically manifested, Jesus is at all times with you and I! We may not always feel that way, we may not always want it that way, but nevertheless He is always with us. What great comfort it must have been for John when this clicked…and what great comfort it is, what great strength it will bring, when it clicks with us too and we place our trust in the One who will never leave us nor forsake us. Chapter 21 Verse 2 •Notice only seven disciples names…only seven disciples are together at this time. Where are the other 4? We’re not sure. John doesn’t say but it’s interesting that the number is 7. Possibly why John decided to close out his Gospel with this account as he thought upon this day and realized that it was seven of them which is the Biblical number of completion…and the Holy Spirit impressed upon his heart…pens down. •And I like how John introduces the folks. Peter first, Thomas second, then Nathaniel…finally John mentions himself and his brother and two un-named disciples. There’s a lot going on here. •First notice, and I believe this is significant, Peter, Tomas, Nathaniel all mentioned first and in that order. Who cares? So what? Well wasn’t it Peter who failed the Lord miserably…denying Him three times? Yet here he is, mentioned first. And wasn’t it Thomas who doubted the testimony of the others regarding Jesus being raised from the dead? Yet here he is, mentioned second. And wasn’t it Nathaniel who when Philip came to Him and said, “we have found the Messiah,” wasn’t it Nathaniel that didn’t believe saying, “can anything good come our of Nazareth?!” Yes! •Yet here they are, mentioned first, second and third by John among the disciples. And I love that because the order of grace is foreign to the minds of men! God uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise, the weak things to put to shame the mighty…God has chosen the things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are…such that no flesh should glory in His presence. (1 Corinthians 1) You see these are they that had been forgiven much, received much grace and therefore they loved much…and that love qualified them to lead. I love that! •And then John here throws us a curve ball and refers to himself as the Son of Zebedee…maybe it’s because they’re about to go fishing or maybe it’s to compliment and complete his own biography in a way. Several times John has written about himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” And now, here he refers to himself as the son of Zebedee…And I like this because it’s as if he’s saying that first and foremost I identify with Jesus…and along with that, I am the son of Zebedee…a fisherman. •You see when God calls you to Himself, He doesn’t wipe away who you are…your personality, your life, your family…No! He doesn’t remove your programming and key-in the programming of a worship robot. That’s religion. God’s not into that! The Bible says that He redeems you! Slanted towards hell, bent on sin…dark and destructive our tendencies…then when the Lord enters our hearts, our minds…our lives, the Bible says that we are renewed…we are no longer being conformed into the image of the world…the image of selfishness and greed and lust and death…but we are being transformed by the renewing of our minds as we walk out the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12) •And so John, he is the disciple of Jesus. The one that finds it absolutely remarkable and impactful that that Jesus would love him…yet he is also Zebedee’s son and in that there is the freedom and liberty to simply know Jesus…to enjoy real relationship…not robotship! •And then there are these two other disciples. John apparently can’t remember their names. I’m not sure I buy that. So why are they unnamed? That we may believe (Chapter 20 v31)…these two other disciples, as we look at this together…it’s us…you and me. Place yourself there with them on this beach on this day as Jesus just shows up. John says, you’re a part of this story too…John’s a pretty clever guy. Chapter 21 Verse 3 •Notice the disciples here, they’re brand new at this walking by faith bit. For the past 3.5 year they have followed Jesus, watched Jesus, heard Jesus, chillaxed with the Lord…but now things are quite new. Now they are to walk by faith. Now they are to learn to listen to the Holy Spirit…they are to learn to trust and wait upon the Lord… •Its just is if they are new Christians…what you and I experience today as we go from making our decisions and charting our daily course based upon what we see, what we perceive sensually with our five physical senses…we take in the information, we compute the calculations and we make our plans. We react you see to our sight… •But as a follower of Jesus we must live by faith…faith in the Lord and His ways and His truth…and therefore all of these things we see, hear, smell, touch and taste…they are all to be filtered through the truth of God’s Word and God’s ways so that we remain upon the path that follows the Lord…because truly that is the pathway to righteousness…the course, the decision, the action that will lead to life, joy, peace, purpose, power and love… •But this is something that requires a maturing process, this walking by faith business…its so very different than what we are used to in the flesh and many times the way you feel you should go is in direct contrast with what the Word of God would say about your specific situation and it is at that moment that you have a decision to make…walk by faith and follow what God’s word says…or walk by sight…? •The Bible says in Proverbs 14:12, “there is a way that seems right to man but its end is the way of death.” And in our daily decisions as Christians, in our choices of how to deal with a matter or with a person or with just how you choose to spend your time…as Christians, day by day we learn this to be quite true…but it takes time…and directly proportionate with your progress in choosing the things of the Lord, taking up your own cross and denying your flesh, directly proportionate to that will be your spiritual growth and maturity…as God would say, “well done, you’re faithful to the measure of faith that I have given…I can trust you with more.” And as you follow closely after Him, press into Him, choose Him…He will choose you the Bible says and more and more and more revelation will be given… •But just like those who are early in the faith or immature in the Spirit, frustration will set in. “Where is God? Why hasn’t He showed up yet? What am I supposed to do…just sit here and wai?” Yes Peter, that’s exactly what you are to do…wait upon the Lord…but here he grows restless and John tells us he proclaims…well I’m going fishing! •But notice, he takes his homies with him…or better stated, they followed him. Happens to us too. We grow restless, we take matters into our own hands rather than resting and trusting in the Lord and what happens…man we carry our peoples out to sea and waste a bunch of time…we waste theirs and we waste ours…they caught nothing all night. Interesting how the restlessness comes at night and the wasted time comes within a time of darkness… Chapter 21 Verse 4 •Now it could be that they were far enough off the shore that they simply couldn’t identify Him as Jesus, not being able to see Him well enough…plus it was daybreak and most likely not particularly bright yet…or •It could be that there is a bit of a parallel here with the account of Mary not recognizing Him at the tomb. There certainly is a similarity in the Greek. Actually the phrase, “did not know it was Jesus,” is the same phrase we find in the earlier account, back in verse 14 of Chapter 20… •Mary was distraught with sorrow, eyes filled, vision blocked with tears…but we talked about this, how it was backwards in a way…because she was weeping at an empty tomb that is the present cause for our rejoicing! She had lost nothing, yet was wailing as if she had, and because of her angst she totally misses that Jesus is right there with her. And remember we talked about how we ourselves weep at empty tombs in our lives…for no reason man…when we should be rejoicing! •And here, these seven…restless…and so they go out and return to their worldly vocation…occupied with their bodily needs and therefore they weren’t even expecting Jesus…they too can’t recognize Jesus even though He’s right there with them! Surely these things are written for our learning man! •We can become so angry for anger sake, or so bitter for bitter sake, or so self pitiful for nothing! When as an act of our own free will we can simply trust in the Lord, turn the dag-on corner and rebuild what was lost in our marriages, start a-new with that neighbor that sends his dog to our yard to leave us gifts…we can decide to love, we can wipe our eyes of our self-full tears and start to look for Jesus man…and in so doing, He’ll be found. He promised! •We can get so immersed in making money, being somebody…moving on UUUUPPP! And we sit back and say, “well God has richly blessed!” Really? At the expense of what? Your family? At what cost? Your ministry unto God’s people? That’s God’s blessing? I’m not so sold that! How do you know that’s not a clever trick to water you down bro? What is it all going to be man when we stand in eternity and you give an account… •You know you might ask someone what is the most important thing in their lives and they might say, “my children.” And then they accept a higher position at work which requires much more time from them and they show what really is important to them…These men are out fishing, trying to get a meal, trying to make a living…and Jesus – RIGHT THERE – yet they knew not. Tragic. Chapter 21 Verse 5 •I love this. Here they are in their toil. Worthless man…catching nothing. Frustrated…maybe the others are muttering against Peter you know…and Jesus calls out to them! Just calls to them right where they are at. He doesn’t wait until they come back to shore…He doesn’t send a wind of delusion to drive them to their knees in submission…not His style man. He just speaks to them. I love that. •And look what He says, “Hey sinners! Hey um, ya’ll tired of being losers? You rebels!” No. He says, “children.” In the Greek that’s pideon which literally means, “my little guys.” Man I want those eyes. I want that heart! Those are the eyes of grace…that is the heart of love and power and purpose…that even though all of these men are a complete mess, Jesus greets them with a smile and with the love of family! •And He asks them, “Do you have any food? Have ya caught any substance?” And they answer Him, “No.” These guys are all right with me…because I must say that many who need substance and life from the Lord, which is only where it comes from…when asked how they’re doing…”ah, I’m just fine.” That attitude will leave you right where you’re at. “My little ones, do you need Me?” Is what Jesus is asking…they’re response…the right one…”yes, we have no food of our own…” •Jesus says, “No problem, I’ll hook you up.” Chapter 21 Verses 6 – 10 •Jesus is so cool and this is so practical…hey guys, you’ve being doing it the wrong way…in your own strength, try the right side of the boat…try doing it the right way…man just try it…and they did…and look, MUCH substance! So much that they had plenty to share, plenty to go around man! •And immediately John perceives that it is the Lord, he’s used to the Lord doing the miraculous…and so am I, man…and then Peter tweaks! I love Peter. He just throws off his fisherman’s gear and cannon-balls! Awesome man. I dig Peter, he’s a knuckle head true and he’s far from perfect true, but man I want to be like him as I see him here…”the Lord’s over there!” SPLASH! •And as they near the land Jesus has a fire of coals ready and He says, “bring some of the fish…I’ll meet you right here and we’ll enjoy them together!” Man this speaks to me…Jesus calls out to them, tells them…reveals to them the right way…they obey…there is much much substance, so much that many can and will and are filled…and then, we enjoy it together…that intimacy is so sweet in my life…and notice, where did it all come from? Jesus! •Alone, I’m aimless, pointless, the ministry is unfruitful…but then God provides…everything…and all I do is walk through the open doors in obedience and He brings about a great catch…great substance…and then we sit and enjoy it together on a fire of coals that He has readied…so all sufficient you see…so cool and so intimate. Chapter 21 Verses 11 – 14 •Mighty Peter, given great strength in the Lord’s service. 153 large fish…maybe 2 or 3 pounds each…that’s a heavy pull…but Peter is able…and John mentions that the net is not broken. And that encourages me. Because if God calls you to it, He will get you through it. He called them to obey Him and catch all those large fish…then He structures miracle after miracle around their obedience and brings them all the way to a wonderful intimate meal. He calls you to the same…
John 20 vs 19-31
January 20, 2013 • Pastor Matt Korniotes
Chapter 20 Verse 19 •And so the church is assembled on Sunday, the first day of the week, which we continue in still to this day, yet they were behind closed doors, and the word there in the Greek actually means that they were behind “barred” doors. Locked doors. Why? John tells us, “for fear.” •Why were they so afraid? Were they breaking the law? No. Were they conspiring against Rome? No. Were they doing anything at all, or guilty of anything at all that would have caused them to fear in such a way to lock themselves in a room in acknowledgement of some sort of alarm? Well, you could say they feared because of their association with Jesus…ok, not bad, but remember the Jews and Romans had already killed Jesus…Jesus was gone in their eyes…the threat was removed…so why are all 10 of theses men (Thomas was not there and Judas was gone) cowering in a locked room together? •Because they are not filled with the Holy Spirit. It’s quite simple to me. They are not in the Spirit. It’s not until verse 22 when they receive the Holy Spirit from Jesus Himself that we see them act no longer out of fear. Why? Why would having or not having the Spirit matter…because the Bible says in 2 Timothy 1:7 that, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” •Therefore, in what Paul is saying to Timothy, when someone is moved with fear, motivated by fear, leaning upon fear as a reason for a specific action or way of life, then they are filled with spiritual weakness, utter selfishness and a warped mind. Do you see why I say that? If Paul said that the opposite of power, love and of a sound mind is fear…then fear is the opposite of those three things…therefore fear, at its root…is weak, self-righteous confusion. •And so when someone justifies sin with fear…”I was afraid and so I did this…Matt, you don’t understand how afraid I am of losing my situation…losing my money, losing my job…how afraid I am of him or of her...” it takes me right back to the Garden man…”Adam, why are you hiding?” “Because I am afraid,” Adam replied… •I know in that moment, when someone says that, texts that, tweets that…I know exactly how to pray for that person, how to minister to that person…and unfortunately I’ve found that ministering to folks that are motivated by fear is one of the hardest battle grounds there is…because the center of fear…is pride. Care and comfort and concern for me, myself and I…makes me quite afraid of all kinds of circumstances…and what ifs… •365 times in the Bible we are commanded to “fear not.” Why would God devote so much to this topic throughout the Bible? Because I have seen and you have seen some of the absolute worst decisions we ourselves and others have made were made out of, or motivated by fear…and in that, the enemy is served. •So what’s the remedy? We’ll see in verse 22…The Holy Spirit…the Spirit of power, love and a sound mind! The remedy is following Jesus closely! That will run the fear right out of you! The Spirit of the Lord and spirit of fear cannot co-habitate. “Well I am close to the Lord but I am still riddled with fear.” Well, I’m not so sure…you may know about the Lord, but I would ask you to take a close look at your intimacy with Him. •What do I mean by that? Look I can sit close to the TV but it doesn’t make me close to newscaster. I can look him right in the eye and reach out to touch him…but I have no personal knowledge of him. No intimacy. •And many have mistaken knowing about Jesus with knowing Jesus. The plain truth is that the one that is close to Jesus will resemble Him. That’s the mark. That’s the tat man. You can tell me all day how close you are to the Lord…how He is your strength…your Commander…but I will always, and everyone will always read your character. How you treat people, how you serve others, how you handle tough situations, how you handle correction… •James 3:6 calls the tongue a world of evil and therefore it is not to be trusted…we can’t take people at their word man…we can take God at His for sure…but you cannot get a pulse on someone’s character by what they say…”I’m a disciple of Jesus” but their life doesn’t add up…not sure if we can buy that you see… •Jesus said, “you are indeed My disciples, if you abide in My word…if you do as I have commanded you…if you live out the precepts and truths found in God’s word…” You cannot fake that…and truly you don’t follow God’s word to be close to Him…you live out God’s word because you already are! And therefore you do not walk in weakness, you walk in power…you do not walk in selfishness, you walk in love…and you do not walk in confusion…being warped and making horrible decisions that lead to continued strife, further decay, you walk in sound mind! •And I love the scene John describes here for us because the disciples are there and then all of sudden Jesus is right in the middle of them! And notice His first words to them. “Where were all of you when I was hanging on the cross?” “Why are you all sitting around doing nothing?” You see they may have expected a reprimand from the Lord as He stood in their midst, yet He brings with Him peace… •You might feel that way also. That if the Lord were to come into your life, the secret places of your life…that surely He would bring reprimand…let this scene change your heart and remove your fear…Jesus brings with Him peace…peace is always a mark in a situation, in a family, in a church, in a person…that Jesus is in their midst…and look that peace doesn’t have to be global…it can’t always be enterprise wide…your husband still may be a taz-manian devil spinning around the house in anger and strife…your parents may still be at eachother’s throats…your coworkers may still always have beef…but you don’t have to… •Some folks in the church may be continually stirring up strife and passing around sin…but when they come to involve you in their sinful discord, you don’t have to share in their sin! You can follow Jesus, stay close to Jesus and in that (and only that) can you minister to them with power, love and a sound mind. This peace is further than circumstantial tranquility…this is an inner peace…and that is what Jesus brings… •I love this…they may have expected reprimand…Jesus says, “peace!” •I heard a story this week of a pastor and his wife buying a house. And in this house was a room that had a white carpet. May be a good idea for a DINK (dual income, no kids) but not so much for him and his wife as they had three daughters. One day his wife and he went out and bought a white couch to match the white carpet (this is a true story by the way) and therefore created in their home what they called, “the white room.” •Quickly the rules were laid down…no eating in this room, no drinking, no playing…this room is for viewing only…but one day, some months later he was in there cleaning and he pulled up one of the cushions to clean under it and there on the underside of the cushion was a huge pink stain! Knowing his wife would eventually find it, he called her in and they examined the blemish together. •Standing in the white room, they summoned their children. As their three girls were standing there in front of them, he reached towards the couch to flip over the cushion. Just then, their youngest daughter bolted! She headed up the stairs and hid and quickly her father went after her. •He called her name a few times. She didn’t answer. He began to check the rooms eventually finding her in her closet with her head buried in her knees. She was crying and didn’t want to look up at her father. He knelt down and placed his hand on her back… •He writes this story and says, “I wonder what she thought my response was going to be. Did she think I would get angry? Did she think I would yell?” They went downstairs together and the little girl told her mom and her father what had happened. •She let out a secret that she had been keeping for months. She had spilled the fingernail polish and then had tried to clean it up but as she scrubbed and scrubbed, the stain just got worse. She eventually flipped the cushion over to hide what she had done. •She told them how she had felt sick to her stomach everytime they were in that room…sick with fear that they would find out. And then she looked into her fathers’ eyes and asked a question that broke his heart…with eyes full of tears she asked, “Do you still love me?” •Maybe that’s where you’re at today. You’ve stained your life so badly, tarnished your true self with sin so deeply that you’re afraid of people knowing. You’re afraid of God knowing…You know after that little girls parents comforted her, reassured her that no stain would ever keep them from loving her…that stain didn’t go away. You know its still there to this day but this little girl, shortly after that, started telling the story of the stained white couch! •After that she liked to show people the stain and tell them what happened. Why? Because a stain that once represented shame and guilt and fear of rejection…now represents love, grace, security and acceptance. THAT is the essence of what is wrapped up in this moment between Jesus and His disciples…between Jesus and your secrets, your shame, your sin…”Peace with you.” Chapter 20 Verse 20 •I like to call this…perspective. I have 20/20 vision. Which means I see clearly without glasses…here we have chapter 20 verse 20…and if this is the lens through which we view the world, through which we view eachother, through which we view God and through which we view the mirror…then we will be as these disciples…glad. •This word glad is “chairo” in the Greek. It is a form of the word “charis” meaning grace and it literally means to be very well…to thrive…oh that we would have 20/20 spiritual vision…that we would look upon the One who was pierced for us…who has paid our debt…and place our everything in Him… •Just a verse ago…they were filled with fear…now notice, Jesus comes, their perspective is clarified…and their fear turns to gladness. Precisely what the Word of God continues to do today in our lives… Chapter 20 Verse 21 – 22 •I love this…He comes to them, He calls them to His service and then He enables them…He fills them with the Holy Spirit! And notice how He does this…John tells us that Jesus “breathed on them.” The word in the Greek is “empysao.” Guess how many times that word is used in the Bible…once. Hold that thought… •Here the disciples…they are born again. Born again? Yes! In Genesis 2:7 we read, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man…came alive…born into a living being!” But then God set man in the Garden of Eden and He said to Adam, of all the fruit of the Garden you shall eat, but of the fruit of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat for in the day you eat of it…you shall surely die. •And what did Adam do…he ate…and in that day, his spirit…died to sin. The wages of sin are death man and that day, the perfect communion that man had with God, the bond of purity in the Spirit…died just as God warned… •Now fast forward to Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in John Chapter 3. He said to Nick, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born AGAIN, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nick protested…how can a man be born twice? Jesus answered, “because a man must be born once of water…the physical birth…and once of the Spirit.” •This is that moment for the disciples man…Just as God breathed life into Adam and Adam became a living being…Jesus breathes life into the disciples and they become ALIVE in the Spirit! Born again unto God…the bond of spiritual communion, reestablished through the price paid upon the cross! Through the Savior Jesus Christ! •And notice, I believe firmly that the Bible is clear in that if you are set free, then you are free indeed. If you are saved, born again by the Holy Spirit, then you cannot be unborn…your salvation is secure because it is not predicated on your righteousness…but on the righteousness of Jesus which is established forever and ever! And therefore, this word here in the Greek…only once. You don’t see this happening again and again in the lives of the disciples…they are saved here, born again here, the price on the cross paid, here they believe and are glad to receive Jesus…and I believe this sole use of this word is simply a gift from the Lord to set that precept in stone for us. Blessed assurance we might sing… Chapter 20 Verse 23 •In Mark Chapter 2 we find a scene where Jesus pronounced forgiveness to a paralyzed man and the Pharisees were all up in arms. “Only God has the right to forgive sin,” they said in Mark 2:7. And they were right. Well what then does this verse in John mean? •It means exactly what is said in several other places in the Bible. That we are His ambassadors man! An ambassador according to Webster is an empowered and approved messenger…a representative or agent of a higher power! That means that it is not we ourselves who provide forgiveness of sins…in and of ourselves we are but dust…no no no we don’t provide forgiveness, man we proclaim it! On behalf of our Leader, or Lord! •To one who says, “I don’t feel forgiven,” it is our responsibility to say, “according to the Word of God, if you open your heart to Jesus Christ and believe in Him, your sin is gone!” Conversely, to the one who says, “I won’t follow Jesus, I’m into meditation or religion or I’m just going to go my own way,” it is our responsibility to say, “your sin remains because only the blood of Jesus has the power to wash it away!” •And so no we aren’t little gods man that is blasphemic theology…thou shalt have no other gods before me…the Lord wrote on the tablets…but rather we are God’s little reps upon the earth…and let me tell you, just as many have gotten this wrong and claimed to have the authority to pardon sin, MANY have totally missed that a Christian IS to live as if they are here on temporary assignment, representing Jesus! •If I took a did a survey today and asked Americans, “Do you believe it’s important to eat right and exercise?” mostly all of them would say, “yes, I believe that.” Americans overwhelmingly say their health is important. But the most popular food at state fairs is a bacon cheeseburger with a bun made out of two Krispy Kreme donuts! You’re charged extra if you want chocolate covered bacon! Which is worth every penny in my opinion. I mean logically speaking, if you’re going to eat a donut bacon cheeseburger, you might as well put some chocolate on your bacon! •But its just like that I find with folks that wear the badge of Christianity today…they say they believe, they rock the cross tattoo but when it comes down to being a real deal, radical on-the-clock agent for Him, His Word and righteousness…man they’re eating the bacon! Their lives resemble the world…let that not be said of you Christian…represent Christ…encourage people to the Lord, teach them truth by your own life…correct them in their sin, rebuke them in their painful cruelty and anti-christ-like selfishness…lest you be found to be like salt that has no flavor… •We’re out of time and I know we didn’t get that far in the text this morning but I pray that we have gotten quite far in your desire for intimacy with Jesus…because that is what will enable you to live your life unto the Lord, in power, purpose, stillness and resolve. I pray that as you leave here today, you do so with a renewed sense of who you are in Him and what your life could and should mean…lived out in the wonder of His grace!