The Resurrected King
Revelation 1:12-18
The Resurrected King
Revelation 1:12-18
Main Idea: The resurrection of Christ shows his glory and authority and gives us hope in place of fear.
I. The Revelation of Christ (1:12-16)
The Apostle John is given a vision of the resurrected and glorified Lord Jesus, ruling and reigning from heaven as the “Son of Man” (cf. Dan. 7:13-14). He is presented as the one fulfilling the role of:
Prophet (“the voice speaking to me”)
Priest (“clothed with a long robe”)
King (“golden sash around his chest”)
“Jesus was not standing off at a distance while his followers suffered for him. He was right there with them, walking in the midst of them, keeping their fire for the gospel burning, correcting them, watching over them, strengthening them. Some people in this world today are so suspect of the church. They’ve seen too much of what they’ve labeled as hypocrisy, and even though they might be interested in Jesus, the last place they want to be found is in the church. But Jesus is not ashamed to be found in the midst of his imperfect church. It is his preferred place to be. He chooses to be in and among his imperfect people who follow him and serve him in imperfect ways.”
~ Nancy Guthrie, Blessed: Experiencing the Promise of the Book of Revelation
John describes (in figurative language) seven things he sees about Jesus’ glorified appearance:
White hair: eternal divine wisdom (cf. Dan. 7:9)
Eyes like a flame of fire: penetrating discernment (cf. Dan. 10:6)
Feet like burnished bronze: strength and stability (cf. Dan. 10:6)
Voice like the roar of many waters: power and majesty (cf. Psalm 29:3; 93:4)
Right hand holding seven stars: sovereign care for his people (cf. Dan. 12:3)
Mouth: a sharp two-edged sword: cutting words of judgment or salvation (cf. Isa. 49:2, Heb. 4:12)
Face radiant and shining like the sun: divine glory (cf. Ex. 34:29ff, Num. 6:25, Mt. 17:2)
II. The Resurrection of Christ (1:17-18)
Though John responds appropriately to this majestic, glorious, and overwhelming revelation of Christ (cf. Isa. 6:5; Jn. 17:6), Jesus touches him and meets him with his grace.
John is told to “fear not” because:
“I am the first and the last” (cf. Isa. 41:4; 44:6; 48:12)
“I am the living one… I died and behold I am alive forevermore”
Acts 2:23–24: … this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
“I have the keys of Death and Hades”
The revelation and the resurrection of Christ means…
He is worthy of our worship
We have hope beyond the grave
We can fear not
“There is no possible cause for fear to any soul that believes in Christ. You shall ransack the corruptions of your heart within; you shall count your trials without; you shall imagine all the tribulations that shall come tomorrow; you shall reflect on all the sins that were with you yesterday and in the past; you shall peer into the shades of death and horrors of hell, but I declare solemnly to you that there is nothing in any of these which you, believing in Christ, have any cause to fear… Carry this fearlessness in your life. Be of good courage. Jesus is King of Hades. Fear not.”
~ Charles Spurgeon, “Christ with the Keys of Death and Hell”
The Suffering King
Hebrews 2:9-17
The Suffering King
Hebrews 2:9-17
Main Idea: In his crucifixion, Jesus defeats the devil, destroys death, and delivers us from fear.
I. Defeats the Devil
Though Satan does not have ultimate power over life and death, he does have influence over the things that cause death. In the Scriptures, “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 Jn. 5:19); he is the “ruler of this world” (Jn. 12:31), the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2), and the “accuser” of God’s people (Rev. 12:10), whose deception led to death’s entrance into the world (Gen. 3:4).
Genesis 3:15: I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.
Though Satan surely thought he had defeated Christ in his crucifixion, Jesus’ death is actually his victory as he crushes the head of the serpent. Christ has defanged the ancient dragon and his weapons of accusation and the judgment of death, and he now rages on as a defeated foe, “knowing that his time is short” (Rev. 12:3, 12).
Colossians 2:13b–15: … God made [us] alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
II. Destroys Death
Death is an unwelcome intruder into this world because of sin, and it is the “last enemy to be destroyed” (1 Cor. 15: 26). Because of the close connection between sin and death, the only way to destroy death is to defeat sin.
Jesus’ crucifixion is:
1. Substitutionary: “Since the children share in flesh and blood, he himself partook of the very same things… he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so he might become a merciful and faithful high priest…” (2:14, 17a)
“The concept of substitution lies at the heart of both sin & salvation. For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man.”
~ John Stott, The Cross of Christ
2. Sacrificial: “... to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” (2:17)
“[The witch’s] knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. The witch would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack, and Death itself would start working backwards.”
~ C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe
III. Delivers us from Fear
Facing death without the hope of Christ inevitably brings about a “lifelong slavery” of the fear of death (2:15). The thought of death confronts us with feelings of finality, uncertainty, and guilt. But for all who are in Christ, we no longer have to fear death because Jesus is the “founder” (‘champion’ or ‘pioneer’) of our salvation (2:10), who has “tasted death for everyone” (2:9).
“All religions talk about death and the afterlife, but in general they proclaim that you must lead a good life in order to be ready for eternity. Yet as death approaches, we all know we have not even come close to doing our best; we have not lived as we ought. So we stay, with warrant, enslaved by the fear of death until the end. But Christianity is different. It doesn’t leave you to face death on your own, by holding up your life record & hoping it will suffice. Instead, it gives you a champion who has defeated death, who pardons you and covers you with his life. You face death “in him” and with his perfect record. To the degree we believe, know, and embrace that, we are released from the power of death”
~ Tim Keller, On Death
The Lowly King
Matthew 11:28-30
The Lowly King
Matthew 11:28-30
Main Idea: Jesus’ heart is gentle and his yoke is light for all who come to him.
I. His Heart
This passage is the unique self-disclosure of Jesus’ heart and his innermost being. His heart is:
Gentle: cf. Matt. 5:5; 21:5; 1 Pet. 3:4; can also communicate ‘meekness’ or ‘humility’
Zechariah 9:9: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Lowly: the idea of being ‘low to the ground’ in humility (cf. Jas. 4:6); Christ’s very heart is accessible and approachable.
Isaiah 57:15: For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
Gentleness, meekness, and lowliness often had negative cultural connotations in this time period, which is why many people overlooked and missed Jesus as the long-promised Messiah and the incarnate Son of God (cf. Isa. 42:1-4; Phil. 2:5-7).
“Meek. Humble. Gentle. Jesus is not trigger-happy. Not harsh, reactionary, easily exasperated. He is the most understanding person in the universe. The posture most natural to him is not a pointed finger but open arms… This, according to his own testimony, is Christ’s very heart. This is who he is. Lowly gentleness is not one way Jesus occasionally acts toward others. Gentleness is who he is. It is his heart. He can’t un-gentle himself toward his own any more than you or I can change the color of our eyes.”
~ Dane Ortlund, Gentle & Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers
Christ’s gentle and lowly heart does not make him a “pushover” or timid in the face of injustice and wrongdoing (cf. 11:20-24); rather, his “heart” tells us that his righteous anger is an expression of his love, not in competition or contradiction with his mercy (cf. Ex. 34:6ff; Isa. 55:6-9).
“The OT speaks of God being ‘provoked to anger’ by his people dozens of times. But not once are we told that God is ‘provoked to love’ or ‘provoked to mercy.’ His anger requires provocation; his mercy is pent up, ready to gush forth. We tend to think his divine anger is pent up, spring-loaded and that divine mercy is slow to build. It’s just the opposite. Divine mercy is ready to burst forth at the slightest prick.”
~ Dane Ortlund, Gentle & Lowly
II. His Yoke
“A “yoke” was a wooden crossbeam placed on animals to harness their strength in agriculture and farming. The Bible often talks about a “yoke” metaphorically to represent bondage (Jer. 27:2-7; Isa. 14:25) or submission to a master (Gal. 5:1; 1 Tim. 6:1)
The scribes and Pharisees spoke positively of the Law as a “yoke,” but Jesus indicts them for creating a “burdensome” and heavy yoke around the neck of the people (cf. Matt. 23:4; Acts 15:10). In contrast, Jesus offers a yoke that is “easy” and a burden that is “light.” Rather than throwing off restraints altogether, Jesus invites us to exchange yokes.
Matthew 5:17: Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
This yoke of Jesus is an invitation to “learn from him” as his disciple, and to embrace his loving constraints that free us for faithful living (cf. Rom. 6:15-18). 1 John 5:3: For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
III. His Rest
Jesus is offering here what every single person longs for: “you will find rest for your souls.” However, Jesus extends this invitation not to the “wise and understanding" (11:25) but to “little children” who “labor and are heavy laden.”
Labor: those who are weary from their own work, toil, and struggle
Heavy laden: those who are burdened by things outside of their control
The invitation of Jesus is this: whatever has us weary and burdened, let them drive you to the heart of Christ, not away from him. Holy Week reminds us Christ bore the burdens and weight of our sin, shame, and guilt upon himself (cf. Isa. 53:4; 1 Pet. 2:24), so we might have eternal “rest for our souls.”
“Up this way, therefore, did burdened Christian run, but not without great difficulty, because of the load on his back. He ran thus till he came at a place somewhat ascending; and upon that place stood a cross, and a little below, in the bottom, a sepulcher [tomb]. So I saw in my dream, that just as Christian came up with the cross, his burden loosed from off his shoulders, and fell from off his back, and began to tumble, and so continued to do till it came to the mouth of the sepulcher, where it fell in, and I saw it no more. Then was Christian glad and lightsome, and said with a merry heart, “He has given me rest by his sorrow, and life by his death.”
~ John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress
The Great Physician
John 4:46-5:18
The Great Physician
John 4:46-5:18
Main Idea: Jesus is our Great Physician, and His words have the power to heal.
I. Healing that Leads to Hope (4:43-54)
“It was dependent on the wonder arising from their sight of the signs, not on a realization that Jesus was indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world. Their very acceptance of him was thus in its way a rejection. They gave him honor of a sort, but it was not honor that was due to him.”
~ Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John (TNICT)
“Jesus detects in the royal official a welcome and a faith that desires a cure, but that does not truly trust him. Indeed, the royal official, in Jesus’ view, exemplifies what is wrong with the Galileans as a whole.”
~ D.A. Carson, The Gospel According to John (PNTC)
II. Healing that Leads to Hostility (5:1-18)
“The rules of the rabbis were a misunderstanding of God’s design for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was not the means to God’s approval, as the rabbis seem to have suggested. The Sabbath was not merely a rule for humans, but a gift to humans. It was to be used to honor God and to benefit his people. More importantly, Jesus was the Lord of the Sabbath.”
~ John MacArthur, New Testamentary Commentary
“Let us leave the passage with grateful hearts, and bless God that we have such a Gospel and such a Savior as the Bible reveals. Are we ever sick and ill? Let us remember that Christ sees, and knows, and can heal as He thinks fit. Are we ever in trouble? Let us hear in our trouble the voice of God and learn to hate sin more.”
~ J. C. Ryle, Thoughts on John
The Divine Healer
John 4:46-5:18
The Divine Healer
John 4:46-5:18
Main Idea: The healings and words of Jesus reveal His compassion and divinity.
I. Seeking Jesus (4:46-54)
Parallels Between The Signs in Cana
A need is communicated (4:47 cf 2:3)
but he initially rebuffs the petitioner (4:48 cf 2:4)
When the petitioner responds in faith (4:49 cf 2:5)
Jesus gives a command that is obeyed (4:50 cf 2:7-8)
at which point the need is met (4:51-52 cf 2:9-10)
These are then identified as the first and second signs, in response to which people believe in Jesus (4:53-54, cf 2:11)
"If he leaves to return home without Jesus, there is probably not enough time to seek help from anyone else. If he does not believe Jesus can speak the word and the healing comes to pass, he will be inclined to stay and plead with Jesus to come to his son. He can depart in peace only if he believes Jesus can say the word and make his son well."
~ James Hamilton, ESV Expository Commentary
II. Sought by Jesus (5:1-9a)
“If John intends any symbolism, it may be along the following lines: just as the water from the purification pots of the orthodox could neither produce nor be mistaken for the new wine of the kingdom (2:1–11), and just as the water from Jacob’s well could not satiate the ultimate thirst of religious people who may have looked to genuine revelation but whose views were widely viewed as aberrant (4:1–42), so the promises of merely superstitious religion have no power to transform the truly needy”
~ D.A Carson The Gospel According to John (Pillar NT Commentary)
III. Stalking Jesus (5:9b-18)
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [that is, Christ]: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic–on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg–or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse…. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
~ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Taste and See
John 4:27-42
Taste and See
John 4:27-42
Main Idea: Those who taste and see will go and tell.
I. Satisfied Soul (4:27-30)
We see here the nature of those who have begun to taste truth, how they do not remain idle with the love of truth conceived in them, but they are zealous for others to know the truth. And they do not separate themselves from others, but they desire them to be joined to them in knowing the truth.
~ Wolfgang Musculus Reformation Commentary on Scripture
II. Submissive Servant (4:31-38)
Deuteronomy 8:3: And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Psalm 147:11: …but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.
Psalm 149: For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.
Isaiah 62:5: For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
Zephaniah 3:17: The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
Luke 15:10: Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
"At one level, Jesus is unique as the one sent by the Father, and his work can be accomplished by no one else. At another level, those who know Jesus, those who trust him, must follow his example. Those who follow Jesus and obey the Father can expect to experience this kind of nourishment. They will experience strength and joy multiplying when they do the will of God. They will be happy when obeying."
~ ESV Commentary
Matthew 28:18-20: And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
III. Shared Satisfaction (4:39-42)
First by report, then by His presence. So it is to-day with them that are without, and are not yet Christians. Christ is made known to them by Christian friends; and just upon the report of that woman, that is, the Church, they come to Christ, they believe through this report. He stays with them … and many more believe, and more firmly believe, on Him, because He is in truth the Saviour of the world.
~ Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers 1.7: St. Augustine: Homilies on the Gospel of John, Homilies on the First Epistle of John, Soliloquies
Romans 10:13-15: For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
From Thirst to Testimony
John 4:27-45
From Thirst to Testimony
John 4:27-45
“There has been a long tradition which sees the mission of the Church primarily as obedience to a command. It has been customary to speak of ‘the missionary mandate.’ This way of putting the matter is certainly not without justification, and yet it seems to me that it misses the point. It tends to make mission a burden rather than a joy, to make it part of the law rather than part of the gospel. If one looks at the New Testament evidence, one gets another impression. Mission begins with a kind of explosion of joy. The news that the rejected and crucified Jesus is alive is something that cannot possibly be suppressed. It must be told. Who could be silent about such a fact? The mission of the Church in the pages of the New Testament is more like the fallout from a vast explosion, a radioactive fallout which is not lethal but life-giving.”
~ Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society
Main Idea: When Christ truly satisfies your deepest thirst, your life cannot remain silent.
I. A Soul Satisfied by Christ (4:27–30)
When the disciples return to the well, they are shocked. John tells us, “Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman” (v.27). Everything about the scene defies their expectations.
John gives us a small but profoundly meaningful detail: “So the woman left her water jar and went away into town” (v.28). She came for water, and she leaves with living water.
“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
~ Augustine, Confessions
“If we truly drink of the living water, we shall turn away from the broken cisterns of the world.”
~ Charles Spurgeon
John 4:28–30: So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him.
II. A Missions Lunch with Christ (4:31–38)
“Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, ‘Rabbi, eat’” (v.31). They are thinking about bread, about their immediate physical needs. Jesus, however, is thinking about something far greater: salvation.
He answers them with a statement that at first confuses them: “I have food to eat that you do not know about” (v.32). The disciples misunderstand completely, whispering among themselves, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” (v.33). They are still operating on the level of the physical, but Jesus is lifting their eyes to a spiritual reality far deeper.
“The immanent frame is a constructed social space that frames our lives entirely within a natural order.”
~ Charles Taylor, A Secular Age
John 4:34: My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.
Our world constantly trains us to focus on what is immediate: productivity, comfort, consumption, and entertainment. We live surrounded by bread, yet starving for meaning.
Jesus invites us into the joy of participating in the work of God.
Jesus points toward the fields surrounding the town. “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest” (v.35). The disciples see farmland, rows of wheat ready for the sickle, the mundane details of rural life. Jesus sees souls. The harvest is ready.
Matthew 9:36–38: When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Christ satisfies our deepest thirst, and then He gives us something better than the empty pursuits of the world: a life that matters forever.
III. A Satisfied Soul Shares Christ (4:39–45)
While Jesus teaches the disciples about the harvest, something remarkable is happening in the town. John writes, “Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony” (4:39). Her simple testimony becomes the spark of revival. “He told me all that I ever did.”
Her deepest source of shame becomes an undeniable proof of grace.
John carefully traces the progression of belief.
Her Word: Many believe because of her testimony.
His Word: Then, as they hear Jesus for themselves, many more believe because of His word (4:39–41).
Their Confession: “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves” (4:42). Her witness started the journey, but Jesus Himself completed it.
This is the goal of evangelism: not to make people followers of us, but to bring them to Christ.
And then comes one of the most astonishing confessions in all of John’s Gospel: the Samaritans declare, “This is indeed the Savior of the world” (4:42). Not the Pharisees, not the religious elite of Jerusalem, but outsiders, former enemies, those marginalized by culture.
And there is a quiet, cutting irony at the close of the story. John writes, “A prophet has no honor in his hometown” (4:44). In Samaria, outsiders recognize and receive the Savior. In Galilee, familiarity breeds indifference. Being impressed by Jesus is not the same as being satisfied by Him.
When you are satisfied in Christ, you share Christ.
“One of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water” (John 19:34). From the cross flows salvation itself. Isaiah had anticipated it: “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3). Every thirsty soul must come to Christ crucified—every thirsty soul must come and see the Savior who died that we might live.
Witness is not taught; it is caught from the overflowing joy of having tasted the Savior.
Living Water
John 4:1-26
Living Water
John 4:1-26
Main Idea: Jesus offers us living water so we might be saved and satisfied in him.
I. Surprising (4:1-9)
As Jesus “had” to pass through Samaria (4:4), he crosses a number of barriers in this encounter:
Jews and Samaritans (4:9)
Men and women (cf. 4:27)
The Messiah and a moral / social outcast
“It is difficult to imagine a greater contrast between two persons than the contrast between the important and sophisticated Nicodemus, the ruler of the Jews, and the simple Samaritan woman. He was a Jew; she, a Samaritan. He was a Pharisee; she belonged to no religious party. He was a politician; she had no status whatsoever. He was a scholar; she was uneducated. He was highly moral; she was immoral. He had a name; she is nameless. He was a man; she was a woman. He came at night, to protect his reputation; she, who had no reputation, came at noon. Nicodemus came seeking; the woman was sought by Jesus.”
~ James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John
If Nicodemus needed to be “born again” (3:3), then everyone must be born again; if this Samaritan woman could receive “living water” (4:10), anyone can receive living water. These conversations teach us that no one is “too good” to achieve salvation, and no one is “too bad” to be ineligible for salvation.
II. Satisfying (4:10-18)
Jesus offers this Samaritan woman “living water,” which entails a number of meanings:
Literally: living water refers to fresh, flowing, running water, rather than stagnant and sitting water sources
Spiritually: living water is a frequent reference in the Bible to God, who is the source of both physical and spiritual life and vitality (cf. Jer. 2:13; 17:13; Isa. 44:3; Ez. 47:1-12; Rev. 22:1-2)
Jesus seems to introduce a “non-sequitur” into the conversation (cf. 3:3): “Go, call your husband…” In this question and the subsequent interchange, Jesus is doing what all prophets do: exposing sin and shame by the Word of God. Jesus is doing this not to condemn, but in order to save (cf. 3:17), lovingly inviting this woman to come into the light, rather than deflecting or hiding.
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
~ C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory
III. Saving (4:19-26)
Rather than the Samaritan woman changing the subject, she is actually in search of the proper response to being exposed in her sin. “The woman does not seek to defend herself or to hide the sin. She has placed her trust in the stranger and she does not draw back…. Where sin has been exposed one must ask about the possibility of atonement, or forgiveness. A prophet can bring no healing if the ministry of the priest is not available, if there is no ‘mercy seat’ where sacrifice can be accepted, and sin put away. Where is that mercy seat?” ~ Lesslie Newbigin, The Light Has Come
The Samaritans and Jews had a long-standing and hostile disagreement about the true temple. However, Jesus tells this woman that while “salvation is from the Jews” (cf. Rom. 1:16), the “hour is coming and is now here” when true worshippers will no longer need to travel to the temple, but they will worship in “spirit and in truth” from their inward being.
Jesus then reveals that he is the “true temple” and the “Messiah” that she is looking for. On the “hour” of his crucifixion, Jesus thirsts in our place (cf. Ps. 22:14-15; Jn. 19:28) so that we might be saved and satisfied in him.
“The heart is as insatiable as the grave until Jesus enters it, and then it becomes a cup full to overflowing. There is such a fullness in Christ that He alone is the believer’s sufficiency. The true saint is so completely satisfied with the provision of Jesus that he no longer thirsts – except perhaps to drink more deeply at the living fountain… Come continually to the fountain, and take the water of life freely. Jesus will never think you take too much, but will always welcome you, saying, ‘Drink abundantly, loved one.’”
~ Charles Spurgeon, Morning & Evening
Isaiah 55:1-3: Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
He Must Increase
John 3:22-36
He must increASE
John 3:22-36
Main Idea: Rejoice in Christ, recognize His reign, and rest in His reward.
I. Rejoice in His Rise (3:22–30)
John 3:22-23: After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized (for John had not yet been put in prison).
John 3:25-26: Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.”
John 3:27-28: “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.
John 3:29: The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.
“The bridegroom’s friend, is jealous for the bridegroom. And he does not put himself forward as an adulterer in the bridegroom’s place but bears witness to his friend and commends the one who really was the bridegroom to the bride. He wants to be loved in him and hates the idea of being loved instead of him.”
~ Augustine
John 3:30: He must increase, but I must decrease.
II. Recognize His Reign (3:31–34)
John 3:31-34: He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.
A. Recognize His Authority Over Your Mind
To recognize His reign is to surrender your reasoning to His Word.
B. Recognize His Authority Over Your Time
Because Jesus reigns, then He rules over your calendar, your work, your rest, and even your hidden life.
C. Recognize His Authority Over Your Confidence
When you recognize the supremacy of Christ you no longer brace yourself against His authority—you draw confidence from it. You do not resent His commands—you trust them. You do not fear His providence—you rest in it.
III. Rest in His Reward (vv. 35–36)
John 3:35-36: The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
A. Rest Means You Stop Trying to Save Yourself
Rest begins when self-salvation ends.
B. Rest Means You Take Judgment Seriously
If you are in Him, wrath does not remain on you. It fell on Christ. That is why you can rest.
C. Rest Means Daily Reliance
Belief is not a one-time glance. It is ongoing trust.
He Must Increase
John 3:22-36
He must increASE
John 3:22-36
Main Idea: He must increase, therefore we are wisest to always pursue a greater worship of Jesus.
I. The Heated Debate (3:22-26)
Any heated debate has at least three common elements. There is a situation, a flash point, and an escalation that turns up the heat.
The Situation - Jesus and his disciples baptizing near John and his disciples.
The Flash Point - A discussion arose over purification.
The Escalation - “He is baptizing, and all are going to him.”
II. A Humble Response (3:27-30)
Instead of being drawn into the controversy and escalating the debate, John steps out of the controversy and addresses the situation from a different - and proper - vantage point. John’s response de-escalates the debate by appealing to a universal constant, correcting the historical record, and stating the inescapable conclusion.
A. The Universal Constant
John 3:27: A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given to him from heaven.”
John’s view of reality saw heaven intimately and intricately involved with and orchestrating affairs on earth. From this perspective, everything on earth is a gift from heaven. John was unfazed by the situation that led his disciples and this Jew into heated debate because he knew that heaven rules and earth follows.
B. The Record Correction
John 3:28: You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’
John locks in on the the only two identity markers about himself that mattered to him:
I am not the Christ
I have been sent before the Christ
John affirms that his sense of identity is wrapped up in what God and the Scriptures say about him.
C. The Inescapable Conclusion
John 3:29-30: The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He [the bridegroom] must increase, but I must decrease.
John makes Jesus the center of attention, not himself or anyone else. Now that "that One” has arrived on the scene, John enjoys two blessings.
“This joy of mine is complete.”
My mission is fulfilled. “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
III. A Homiletical Summary (2:31-36)
Whether this section is a continuation of John the Witness or a chapter summary from John the Apostle, it stands as a three-point sermonic conclusion to the whole chapter:
He who comes from above is above all - v. 31. Listen to Him and do not be surprised that He sounds confusing to you.
He bears witness to what he has seen and heard. - vv. 32-35. His testimony is true. Those who reject it do not make Him false. Those who receive Him prove that what He testifies to is true.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. - v. 36. To hear Him and repent is life. To ignore Him and rebel is to miss life and invite wrath.