MPC 5th March 2017.March 5 - John 8 - "Judea Judges Jesus"
MPC 5th March 2017.
Phil Campbell
Our series is called Judging Jesus, and in a Bristol court room in the UK there's been some present day judging of Jesus going on in the last week.
It was the trial of two street preachers, Michael Overd and Michael Stockwell; who were found guilty under Section 31 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, for using "threatening or abusive words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress, thereby, and the offence was religiously aggravated."
Now I'd have to say if you watch some video clips, Michael Overd and Michael Stockwell weren't exactly being winsome. There's no doubt they were shouting, and there's no doubt their manner was kind of aggressive.
But listen to the words of the prosecutor Ian Jackson. And keep in mind that the prosecution won the case. Prosecutor Ian Jackson said this:
To say to someone that Jesus is the only God is not a matter of truth. To the extent that they are saying that the only way to God is through Jesus, that cannot be a truth.
Now you might agree with those statements.
Because it's awkward isn't it? I mean, the street preachers were quoting verses like Jesus saying, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the father but by me."
Which in this pluralistic multicultural age, particularly in a place like Bristol... is so awkwardly binary, isn't it? So this way or that way. So only two option-y. That in the mind of Prosecutor Ian Jackson, statements like that cannot possibly be true.
Cannot possibly be allowed to be true.
That to see the world in a binary way like that, that there are only two options... can't possibly be a truth.
Good verses evil. Darkness and Light. God and The Devil.
The world's not that simple. Is it?
Well, that's exactly the kind of scene were stepping into in John chapters 7 and 8, where everyone in Judea is trying to come to a verdict on Jesus; he's gone up to Jerusalem for a festival, and he keeps saying awkward things like the statement at the start of our passage in chapter 8 verse 12. darkness and light. That he's the lighthouse. Everything else is dark. That he's the lamp. To follow on the dark trail. Which all seems very black and white. Look at his words.
He says, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
The problem is if you're Prosecutor Ian Jackson, or anyone else who thinks like him. The problem is, what if that's actually true. And Jesus is those things?
And I mean, what higher truth pedestal is Ian Jackson sitting on, to be able to make a claim that a statement like that can't possibly be "a truth"?
In the world of epistemology; in the world of philosophy; what sort of higher truth would you need to have access to: to be able to categorically rule out the fact that Jesus really has... come from the Father. And brings light to the world?
Well, that doesn't stop Ian Jackson, and it doesn't stop the Pharisees either. The religious leaders of Israel. The God experts.
And we've been noticing the last few weeks that John as he writes his gospel has been presenting it like a long running court case; look at their words.
They challenge him. Verse 13. On a legal technicality. "Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid."
Here you are blowing your own trumpet. Here you are being a character witness on your own behalf.
I mean, we get that. When you're interviewing a job applicant, you don't say "write yourself a character reference." You want a third party perspective.
Well, verses 14 to 18, Jesus calls in his second witness.
He says, I can testify, because I know where I've come from and where I'm going. But the fact is, verse 17; there is a second witness. In your own law it says the testimony of two witnesses is true. Well, here's the second. Read it in verse 18. Count them.
I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.
Now again, the question for Prosecutor Ian Jackson, and the question for the Pharisees, and ultimately the question for all of us, is what if he really did?
What if God really did send him? And the signs that fill the pages of the gospels really were God's endorsement?
And we've a priori, we've already created a logical filter that says claims like that just can't be true. Before we've looked at the evidence.
But Jesus says it over and over again. My father who sent me. He's my witness. I've come from the father.
And so the cross questioning steps up a notch.
The first of three key questions. That ramp up in intensity. As Jesus answers them more and more bluntly. Verse 19, verse 25, verse 53.
Remember at this point it's the Pharisees who are grilling him.
And in verse 18 he's just said, my other witness is the father who sent me.
So they ask him. Directly. Point blank.
Verse 19. Where is your Father?
If you've got this other witness, bring him on!
Where exactly is this Father you keep talking about?
And Jesus says to them... "Ah, you wouldn't know him. You don't know me, you don't know my father. If you knew me, you'd know my father also."
Which is astonishingly bold when you think about it, because these guys are the God experts. Or at least, they think they are. Jesus is speaking in the temple courts. The centre of Israel's God worship. The place where they bring their offerings.
But in spite of the fact he's been so direct with them, John says in verse 20 that no one seized him yet. Because his hour has not yet come.
An hour that Jesus has mentioned before. At the start of chapter 7. A ticking clock. With the hands edging closer and closer to a climax. That's still to come.
Round 2 of the Cross Questioning.
Another direct question for Jesus. In verse 25.
In the three or four verses leading up to it, he's being obscure again. I'm going away, and you'll look for me, and you'll die in your sin. Where I go you can't come.
What on earth is he talking about? They say, is he suicidal or something?
But he says again, you're from below, I'm from above. Not of this world. And if you don't believe I am; you'll die in your sins. Because the way it turns out, he's here to save them from that.
And they're not listening.
So here's the question. Verse 25. Who are you?
Just who I've been saying all along. "Just what I've been telling you from the beginning," says Jesus. And while they're still busy in the process of judging him, he says in verse 26, I have much to say in judgement of you." Which is what we've noticed every week so far. That the way we judge Jesus. Is ultimately going to judge us.
And they just don't understand.
Or they can't. John says in verse 27, they just didn't understand. That he was telling them about his Father.
These religious experts. These Pharisees who claim they know everything there is to know about God and what pleases him. They just don't get it. Though if they really knew God; they should. And they would.
I was listening to a report the other day about two families in America. If you're a parent it's the classic nightmare scenario; their babies were switched at birth. They took them home. Two girls. Sue McDonald. And Mardi Millar. Who should have been sue Millar. And Mardi Mcdonald. It's a terrible story. When the truth came out, their worlds were turned upside down.
Imagine. The father you thought was your father isn't your father at all. Your mum isn't really your mum.
But when the truth came out, all kinds of things started to make sense. All kinds of odd things. All kinds of family likenesses.
Mardi Millar, Living half way across America, had chosen exactly the same framed print on her wall as her real mum and dad had on theirs. When the truth came out about whose family was whose, a whole lot of things just fell into place.
Look, it's not that these opponents of Jesus have literally been switched at birth like that. But before we get to their third question in the grilling of Jesus there's a very similarly confronting argument about who's parents are whose. Because it looks like these Israelites aren't quite who they think they are. More to the point, their father isn't who they think he is.
The nation of Israel descended from Abraham. On the basis of God's covenant promises. They've always been called the people of God. Which is why they take exception when Jesus says that the truth about him will set them free. We're not slaves. We're children of Abraham. Which means we're God's children, already!
To which Jesus says, everyone who sins... is a slave to sin. And if you say you're not sinners... why are you plotting to kill me.
Here's the warm up. Verse 38.
I'm telling you what I've seen in the father's presence, and you're doing what you've heard from your father.
They say, verse 39, Abraham is our father. Jesus says, Abraham would never do what you're doing. Looking for a way to kill me; a man who's told you the truth I learned from God. Abraham would be all ears. You're doing the works of your own father. You're nothing like Abraham at all!
They say; verse 41; getting hysterical: "We're not illegitimate children. We haven't been switched at birth. We're God's children. The only Father we have is God himself."
To which Jesus says, if that were really true... you'd recognise me straight away.
If that were really true, my words would resonate in your hearts. And you'd be welcoming me with open arms like a long lost brother.
If God were your Father, verse 42, you'd love me, for I have come here from God.
Which by the way was exactly the way it worked out for sue Millar. When she was finally reunited with her birth family, the McDonalds. Her brothers and sisters were just overjoyed to see her. They laughed the same. They talked the same. They liked the same music.
When Jesus comes to Israel... there's no family recognition at all.
Pick it up from verse 43.
43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires.
He's talking about first and foremost, the desire to kill him. Who is guilty of no sin, who has done no wrong. Except that he really has come. From his father in heaven.
Which of course, can't possibly be true. Because we've decided in advance that it can't be.
Unless of course you've got a niggling feeling that there might be something in this Jesus stuff; if you're willing to hear out his claims... maybe it's because God's already got his hand on you.
But for the Pharisees, for the religious Jews... verse 47, Jesus says to them, the reason you don't hear is that you don't... belong to God in the first place.
And the Jews by now are frothing at the mouth. Verse 48, they accuse him of being a Samaritan. The people next door. They accuse him of being demon possessed. Not sure which is worse. They're grasping for whatever insult they can throw at him.
To which Jesus says, it's not me seeking my glory. God is. And if you obey my word, verse 51 - you'll never see death.
Which just proves to them he's demon possessed. Even father Abraham died. Verse 52. All the prophets died. Everyone dies. Are you saying you're greater than Abraham?
So here comes their third big question. Question 1. where is your father. Question 2. who are you?
This time the tone is even more indignant. Spitting out the words. It's really more an exclamation.
Who, exactly, do you think you are, to make a claim like that? Who do you think you are?!
Now I'm sorry at this late stage, but it's time for a commercial break.
Because the next thing Jesus says is proudly brought to you by the Old Testament. And it might make your head spin.
What he's about to say is kind of mind expanding even on its own. But when you catch a glimpse of what's happening back in Exodus Chapter 3 it adds a whole new layer.
The day Moses... was first confronted by God who appeared to him in a burning bush. It's one of the foundational stories of the Old Testament. The day God introduced himself to Israel.
God says to Moses from the midst of the fire; go and tell Pharaoh in Egypt to let my people go.
Moses says to God, but who are you? Who do I say has sent me?
And God gives Moses His name. Which in the original Hebrew, is that very simple word we use to say I exist. I'm the essence of life.
It's a weird part of language. We call it the verb to be. And though we usually don't notice it, there's one point at which it's hugely powerful. It's the tiny word in a sense with the power of life and death. When you use it of someone else, in English it's the difference between she is a great woman, or she was a great woman. It's a faux pas, isn't it, when someone's just passed away if you say she is. Instead of she was. It's awkward.
There's a life and death difference between I am. And I was. That little set of words about my being. God says to Moses, my name is and always will be: I-am. I am who I am. Which translates roughly in the Hebrew as YAH-WEH. Tell Pharaoh "I am" has sent you.
The one who exists before all existence. The one who keeps all existence actually being. Paul says later on that he's the one in whom we live and move and have our being.
So back to John 8. The question. Who do you think you are Jesus?
Jesus says to them, "Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day: he saw it and was glad." As if he knows him. What are you talking about? You're not even fifty years old and you're talking as if you've seen Abraham?
Here comes his grand answer. In terms of grammar, it doesn't even read right.
Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was born... I am.
Not even I was, which would be astonishing in itself. But I am. The head spinning ever present present. You might not actually get this intellectually. I know I don't. But it's exactly what John said right back in verse 1 of his gospel. It's the core conviction he's writing from.
That this Jesus. Is like a word from God. Spoken into our 3D world.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. And the word was God." God the I am.
Who do you think you are, Jesus? Before Abraham was, I am.
Which is why at that point they pick up stones to stone him. Because in the words of prosecutor Ian Jackson in Bristol,
To say to someone that Jesus is the only God is not a matter of truth. To the extent that they are saying that the only way to God is through Jesus, that cannot be a truth.
We can't let it be true. By definition. These street preachers are guilty, your honour. They're speaking untruth. And they're stirring up the city.
I guess the question isn't so much whether it can or can't be true according to our social agenda; but is it true in reality. And how would you know if it was? How would you decide?
I think if you've been a Christian for a while, it's easy to lose sight of just how big the claims are that Jesus is making. The scale. Of his claims. And if you're on the other side of the fence, and you're maybe just checking Christianity out; how do you weigh it up?
Here are two tips. On how to sort through it. Two places where Jesus says, then you will know.
First of all, back in verse 27 and 28. A point when the people listening just don't understand what Jesus is telling them about his Father. And Jesus says, verse 28,
When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am, and that I do nothing on my own, but speak just what the Father has taught me.
When's it going to come clearest? When they lift him up. When they crucify him. And in all the events that follow. That's when it's going to come into focus.
All these claims he's making about eternal life; they'll have a whole lot more weight to them once they've put him to death. If he rises again. His death and resurrection is going to speak for itself.
So if you're still making your mind up about Jesus, have a look there. As we move towards Easter, as John in his gospel moves us to the climax; keep listening. Keep watching. Weigh it up. And ask the question what if God really did step into his world? Would you expect any different? I mean, you can decide before the fact, you can decide in principle that all kinds of things just don't happen. Which guarantees you'll ignore it when it does.
And one last thought.
Back in verse 31, did you notice there are some of the Jews. Who are kind of persuaded. It's a funny thing through John's gospel, you might have noticed it before. That there are all kinds of people who believe a bit; maybe just because they've seen some miracles. But they're not in it for the long haul.
Here's the thing. To the Jews who had believed him, verse 31, Jesus says this. And he'll say it to you and me as well.
If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
Dave Walter is a Christian worker among university students here in Brisbane. He reckons these days it's easy to get uni students to try out Christianity. He says, they'll try anything. Buddhism this week. Let's give it a go. Christianity next week. Sure, Dave, we'll try that. Ski-ing the week after.
Jesus says, I'm not talking about easy belief. And it won't be, will it? If you live in somewhere like Bristol or Brisbane where truth is relative. And the claims of Jesus we're told aren't allowed to be true.
So what's your verdict? Jesus says, if you grab on to me and you don't let go. If you really take me seriously. It's only then that you'll really know the truth. In a way that you don't and you can't from the other side of the line.
And that truth... will set you free. Which as I've said before, generations of Christians have proven true. Over and over again. We do know the truth. And we have been set free. And we'll keep holding on to the teaching of Jesus. Maybe with more grace than those Bristol Street preachers. But unmoved when any court judges Jesus and says his claims cannot be a truth. And you might want to say in the light of his resurrection, you might want to say in the light of having followed him, crown prosecutor, maybe think again.