Well, Christmas has come and gone with a fury once again. I hope that it was a time of joy and celebration for you just as it was for me. One of the funnier aspects of Christmas is the “what now” moment that comes after the holiday has passed. I’m referring to that sense that we all have usually somewhere around Christmas evening or possibly even the next morning where we ask ourselves, “What now? Do I have to go back to ‘normal’ life? I can’t even remember what life was like before Christmas?” Ok, maybe it’s not quite as extreme as that last question, but there is a sense in which everything that we were doing in our lives that wasn’t Christmas related has become a momentary blur. Unfortunately for many of you, the world that awaited at work wasn’t as confused or forgiving. This is especially true for preachers, or at least as far as our preaching is concerned. Personally, everything that I had focused on for over a month now was centered around the birth of Christ. I have to admit that I had to go back and reread my last couple of sermons from before our Advent season to refresh my mind as to where we were going in John. So, I want to do you a favor and give you as brief of a recap as I can as to where we are in John’s gospel.
At this point, we are well into Jesus’ earthly ministry. He has performed miracles such as the healing of the lame man and the feeding of 5,000 (which we said was closer to 15,000). He has gained somewhat celebrity status amongst many who are hearing of the works that he has done. Word of the phenomenon known as Jesus is starting to spread across the land and the leadership in and around Jerusalem is becoming very annoyed with this fact. Our last text from John’s gospel saw Jesus going to Judea to attend the Feast of Booths. After initially declining to attend out of fear for his life, Jesus not only went, he went there and at some point began preaching and teaching. We saw the Jews, and particularly the Jewish religious leaders, question how Jesus could say such things. They questioned how Jesus could say all that he was saying since he had no real education. Upon hearing their questions, Jesus spoke of being sent from the Father and said that the authority that he had to say such things was from God Himself. He spoke to correct all of their misunderstandings about him, his ministry, and the authority given to him.
In our text today, we find that many additional people have gathered around and are hearing this conversation between Christ and the religious leaders in Judea. You see, the people knew that the authorities were seeking the so-called Messiah to kill him. If you will remember, all of the people who were talking about Jesus during this festival were doing so in private so that they didn’t face any punishment from the guards around the city. We’re reminded of that again in this text by seeing the surprise that exists among the people there when we find the words, “Is not this man whom they seek to kill? And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him.” It’s at this time where many of these folks are apparently getting their first look at Jesus as being the Christ, the Messiah, the one that they have heard so much about. You see, they have seen Jesus before, but they have never been told that he was the Christ, that he was the Messiah. They have seen this man and they somewhat know who he is, but they most certainly do not expect him to be the Messiah. We find the people saying, “Can it be that the authorities really know that this man is the Christ? But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” You see, the people knew that Jesus was from Galilee, whereas the Messiah was to be a native of Bethlehem or, according to some traditions, of unknown origin. Well, we know very well that although Christ may have grown up in Galilee, he was indeed born in Bethlehem. We looked at that very text a couple of times during our Advent series. It’s similar to how even if you are a citizen of one country and you deliver a child in a foreign country; your child is actually a citizen of either the foreign country or both countries. No one in Judea knew that Christ was actually born in Bethlehem, they just considered him to be from Galilee.
Jesus hears the questions from the people and he answers them saying, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” In actuality, neither Bethlehem nor Galilee were Jesus’ ultimate place of origin; He came from the Father. Jesus is telling the people that where he came from is less important that who he came from. He is telling them that his miracles and his teachings are of greater importance than his family tree and the location of his birth. Jesus is speaking about the closeness of the relationship between himself and the Father. He knows the Father, and not just from a distance. He is from Him; there is an intimate relationship there that no one can comprehend. Jesus isn’t standing before them because of his own want and desire to be with them, but because the Father has given him a very specific purpose and mission to accomplish with his life.
God’s plan, God’s will is always accomplished. Notice the words of verse 30, that even though the authorities were seeking to kill him, no one laid a hand on Jesus during this discourse with the religious leaders and the people of Judea. The reason why Jesus was not touched even though he was supposed to be killed is because that wasn’t God’s plan. God’s plan for Christ’s life did not involve his being arrested (as we will see next week) or killed at this time. The purpose of these events was found in the final verse of our text today, “Yet many of the people believed in him.” I find this statement both hilarious and tragic at the same time. Here is a group of people who seemingly have known Jesus to some extent and have seen him numerous times for years, yet they had no clue who he really was.
I have a younger cousin named Neil; he is my dad’s younger brother’s oldest son. When Neil was younger, he spent his summer as a lifeguard at a local golf course pool. There was a restaurant at the golf course where golfers and folks using the pool would go and eat. Neil would often go in and eat lunch from the restaurant since it was easier than going somewhere else to get food. About halfway through the summer, he noticed that there was this man who was sitting by himself every day eating lunch. No one even came to sit with him or really ever even talked to him. One day, Neil decided that he would go over and talk to him. To make a long story short, Neil ended up eating lunch with that man almost every day for an entire month. He was telling some of us about this man several months later and my dad asked him who the man was. He told us that his name was Davis Wade. My dad immediately stopped what he was doing and asked, “Davis Wade?” Neil replied, “Yeah, or at least that’s what he told me.” I was curious as to why my dad cared, so I asked him, “Dad, who’s Davis Wade?” My dad replied to me by saying, “Oh, only the founder of Alfac insurance and the guy who donated the nearly $50 million it took to expand Mississippi State’s football stadium. You know, Davis Wade Stadium?” You see, this man was someone who everyone knew his name because of his contributions, but very few knew who he was. Needless to say, my cousin was shocked that this man who he had started eating with sometime ago was indeed the same Davis Wade who founder Aflac insurance and had been such a generous philanthropist.
These people in Judea had seen the man Jesus numerous times. They had heard all of the tales of the Messiah’s works as well. Yet, they had no clue that the man known as Jesus was that very Messiah. He was right there in front of them the whole time, but they were completely blind to it. Unfortunately, the same can be said of many people, even Christians, in our own day-and-age. Christ is right there for all of us to see. He is all around us. There are things that happen each and every day that let us know that God is real and He is ever-present in our lives, but we don’t see Him. I see it every day; there are people in this world who God has so richly and mercifully blessed, yet they can’t and don’t see Him. So many who think that all that they have is because on them and their hard work and their determination. Why, even the fact that the sun comes up, stays up for a relatively known amount of time, and then goes down is proof enough that God is there. He has given order to the world around us, yet there are those out there that us this as proof of His non-existence. Friends, it is our job and duty as Christians, as possessors of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to share the good news with all those around us. It is our responsibility to point others to Christ. How, when we know the answer to the question that everyone is asking, can we remain silent and not help them to see Christ? You don’t ever know when that person is seeking and searching for an answer, for THE answer. What a joy, what a wonderful blessing it is and would be for each and every one of us for God to use us to point others toward Him. Friends, allow yourself to be an instrument of God, used to point the way to Christ, used to point the way to the light in the darkness. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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