Tyranny and Tragedy: Loving the Approval of Men More than the Approval of God - John 12:42-50

1:51Well, the title of today's message is Tyranny and Tragedy: loving the approval of men more than the approval of God. Now, where we are in John chapter 12, and really in the whole greater picture of John, is we're coming to the end of Jesus' public ministry. And if you look at verse 30, several things happened, and you can see these events by the word now. Look at verse 20. Now there were some Greeks among them that came up. And so these Greeks, their presence triggered in Jesus the understanding that his hour to be glorified had come.

2:41Look down at verse 27. Now my soul has become troubled. So he's troubled because of his pending crucifixion. Verse 31, now judgment is upon the world. Now the ruler is being cast out. And then he says these words in Verse 32, and if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself. But he was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which he was to die. And this statement blew the minds of those in the crowd. And they said this in verse 34: We have heard out of the law that the Christ is to remain forever. And how can you say the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is the Son of Man? And so here's the crowd bewildered. The thought of a crucified Messiah doesn't make any kind of sense whatsoever. That doesn't fit our understanding of what Christ should be, what he expects him to do. Therefore, who is this guy? Who are you? And it's in this context that Jesus then says, Look in verse 35, while you have the light, believe the light, so that you may become sons of the light. These things Jesus spoke, and he went away and hid himself from them. Then John goes on to give some commentary as to why they didn't believe. But this thought is still in the mind of the crowds, and we're not going to see them anymore. But John leaves us with this thought that was lingering in the crowds: who is the Son of Man?

4:19And why do you think he needs to be crucified? And there he is. They stopped listening, and Jesus withdraws. And he leaves them with. Really, a final exhortation. And John, in his description, describes this as he is reflecting on what took place. But what you have in our text this morning is really a summary of Jesus' message: his message to the crowd, his message in his public ministry, his message to us today. And yet, nevertheless, there were some who believed in him. And so, I want to spend our time this morning. I want to look at the tyranny, and then I want to look at some tragedy. Tyranny, and I want you to see these people who are in the grip of tyranny. Look at verse 42. Nevertheless, many even of the rulers believed in him, but because of the Pharisees, they were not confessing him for fear they would be put out of the synagogue, for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God. Notice that many believed. Many of them believed. They were intellectually convinced. They believed that Jesus was not a lunatic, was not some crazy man, and he wasn't a liar. They believed, at least in some degree, they were convinced that the direction that the ruling elite was taking.

6:01Was not appropriate. They didn't sign on. Yet, they would not confess him. That is, that they would not publicly declare him. For them, it was not safe to confess Christ, to publicly declare or to speak up. I would imagine among these you have Nicodemus and you have Joseph of Arimathea, who later you get the sense that definitely are become true believers. But there may have been many more. And it's hard to say what is the level of belief here. I think one thing we can surely see from John here is that this kind of belief is not to be esteemed at all, but that these who did have some kind of conviction, they wouldn't confess him because they were afraid to be put out of the synagogue. And here's the reason they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God. They agoped the glory of men rather than the glory of God. They agoped the, they desired, they loved the good opinion of the people around them rather than, or more than, the good opinion of God.

7:31So, these people found their convictions at odds with their peers. Now, what are you going to do when you've read about Christ, you see Christ, and he doesn't fit with the popular culture of our day, and he doesn't fit within the popular ideas among your peers, even, or in your workplace. You see, these men found their convictions set them at odds with their peers, and they had to make a decision. And it brings all of us to a decision: who is this Christ of Scripture? And are we going to live out of conviction of what the scriptures say about him, or are we going to be driven by what others say and let others define what Christ is supposed to be like?

8:40So, who would they value more, Christ or their peers? It's evident in the text they chose the approval of men rather than the approval of God. They wanted to remain in the good standing with their peers or with the Popular opinion of their peers, and yet deep down they knew their peers were wrong about Jesus. They knew in their conscience that it's not right to kill Jesus, and yet they went along with it anyway. That's tyranny. These men are in bondage.

9:35They went against their own consciences. They preferred the good opinion over a good conscience. Tragic. They were incarcerated, if you will, by the approval of their peers. It's not freedom. That's not a good place to live. Incarcerated to the opinions of those around you? Their greater love was the approval of those around them. And really, this ultimately comes down to a self-love. They love themselves, and that's why they're so fixated with the opinions of those around them because they want to be thought well of.

10:27And no question that these synagogue Rulers were tyrants. Their message was: you can't think like that, or you are going to be ousted. Right? Listen, the Christ of Scripture gets the same response all around in our society today. You can't think like that. Let me define Christ for you because that's not the way he should be. We know the Christ is going to come and he's going to promote us, take down the Romans. He's not going to come in and clean up our temple. No?

11:08You see, personal ambition was master over these men's lives, and so they wouldn't confess Christ. And listen, as long as personal ambition is master over you, you will remain shackled to earth. And this selfish ambition manifests itself by being so wrapped around the axle about what other people think about you. Listen, personal ambition must give way to doing what is right. And what is right in God's eyes. And nothing keeps a person more bound to the world system than the dominance of personal ambition.

11:56It will not only keep you from doing what you ought to do. But it will even promote you to do the unthinkable. These men knew Jesus was innocent. And yet they went along. You see, there is great danger in rolling over to the popular opinion of your peers. See, John, so that's the men in tyranny. The tyranny is not so much the synagogue rulers, but the love of their opinion. That's the tyranny. The tyranny is on the inside of the people that John's trying to encourage not to be like this, right? The tyranny is loving the approval of men more than the approval of God. That's the tyranny. And it's internal. And it's tragic. And John goes on to warn his readers against such bondage by describing three tragic consequences of loving the approval of your peers over the approval of God.

13:07And these three consequences come from Jesus himself. And so I want us to look up and take our time this morning to reflect upon these three tragic consequences so that we will love the approval of God more than the approval of man. Well, that's where we're going this morning. The first consequence is. Of loving the approval of men more than the approval of God is that those who do will remain in darkness. They will remain in darkness. Look at verse 44. And Jesus cried out and said, He who believes in me does not believe in me, but in him who sent me. He who sees me sees the one who sent me. I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me will not remain in darkness.

14:00I want you to see this unbreakable union here. Look at this. The one who believes sees. The one who believes Jesus sees God. The one who believes Jesus sees the one who sent Jesus. And I love how Jesus says it here in verse 44. He who believes in me does not believe in me. But it wouldn't make any sense if he didn't add this in there. In him who sent me. So the very aspect of believing in Jesus is believing that, okay, there is one that has sent him. Everything declares that Jesus is not here on his own. He comes from another realm with another dimension of authority.

14:47And the one who believes in him is recognizing that there is one behind him. And he's going to make sure that everybody knows that that's the Father. Verse 49. Jesus is the self- Disclosure of the Almighty God. I also want you to see the purpose for Jesus' coming. Look at verse 46. Verse 46 assumes that man's natural state is darkness. I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me will not remain in darkness. Darkness is the natural state of mankind, a spiritual dullness. We do not naturally know God.

15:35We cannot and will not know God unless God chooses to reveal Himself to us. And so Jesus came as a light, came as light, literally, I, light, into the world, have come. I have come, light has come, and that light remains in effect. We have the testimony of his coming. The light that has come remains in effect, still as valid today as it was the day he stepped foot on this earth. Jesus came as light. He is the one illuminating our eyes so that we can understand who God is, what he is like, how we are to respond, so that we don't stay in this state of spiritual dullness and darkness, rushing to eternity. Without any idea of what's coming next.

16:35He came so that we can see life as it really is. And what's wonderful about Jesus' coming is he came so that we wouldn't remain in darkness. So neither the Father nor Jesus wants us to stay in darkness. Isn't that nice to know? And that's why he came. And so the one who lets culture define God rather than the Christ of Scripture is going to remain in spiritual darkness. Second consequence of loving the approval of men more than the approval of God is that those who do, they will be judged. They will be judged. Not only will they remain in darkness, but they will be judged. Look at verse 47. If anyone hears my sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him, for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.

17:43You remember what's going on in verse 31? They're asking, like, what's this idea of this crucified Messiah, right? Judgment is upon this world. So he says, judgment is on the world. If I am lifted up, I will draw all men to myself. So they're trying to understand this whole idea. And Jesus is saying, I do not judge. If anyone hears my sayings, it does not keep them. I do not judge him, for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. See, there's two kinds of hearing going on. I think everyone who's married understands this.

18:33Certainly, all of us husbands understand that. I mean, sometimes I'm listening to my wife, there's a kind of hearing which she doesn't really tolerate. Okay? Oh, yeah, yeah, that's good. Yes, dear, yes, dear, right? That's not that, there's that kind of hearing, right? Or if you're a parent, every parent and child, no, you're not hearing what I'm saying. Listen to me, right? And there's a kind of hearing that the words are going in, but they're not really, the mind isn't getting around, and there's certainly no appropriate response. Well, there's that kind of hearing, and that's the kind of hearing that doesn't really seek clarification or understanding. But that's the kind of hearing that Jesus is talking about. The kind of hearing that hears with the purpose of understanding, seeking clarification for the purpose of an appropriate response. Response.

19:35And that's the kind of hearing that God expects in Deuteronomy 6:4. Hear, O Israel, be attentive, be paying attention to my words for clarity, for understanding, hear. But if anyone hears my sayings and does not keep them, then they are ones that are hearing the words, but they're really not trying to take them in to understand, to obey. And that's what he's saying. If anyone is like this, kind of hears the words, but does not really keep them, is not really paying attention, is really not engaging their minds and hearts to make an appropriate response, these are like hard soil or like thorny soil.

20:19That's Mark 4. They do not hear with the intent that does them any good. And verse 46 makes it clear that man is in darkness. Verse 47 assumes that man is condemned already. So not only is man in darkness, but man also stands condemned because of his darkness. And the only way out of this condemnation is by believing in the light and keeping his instruction. Hearing and keeping. It's the idea, going together, that kind of hearing.

20:58But notice again the purpose of Jesus. Is coming. He says it again in verse 47, 46. What does he say? He came so that people would not remain in darkness. In verse 47, he came so that people would not remain under condemnation. You see, the world needs to be saved from the judgment of God. That's the assumption here. Jesus came to accomplish such a salvation. But I want you to see in verse 48 the reality of judgment. This is something our society really doesn't like. We don't like this whole kind of be judged, right? Don't judge. Well, the tragic consequence of those who love the approval of man over approval of God is that they will be judged. Look at verse 48. He who rejects me and does not receive my sayings, and that's the idea. The one who breaks faith with me or the one who is not having faith in me as evidence by not keeping my sayings, it's the idea, has one who judges him. There is one presently judging him. And that one, look, the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.

22:13So notice that there's a reality of judgment here. The reality, there's a time of judgment when? The last day. Notice that. There is, I spoke, is what will judge him at the last day. Listen, all of human history is coming to a point. It'll culminate in one final day when the God of the universe will judge. And all, and what the God of the universe is doing is he is moving all of human history to that day. Judgment.

22:48There is a time of judgment. There is the reality. This verse is very clear. There is the reality of judgment. There it is. And now notice who is going to be judged. Verse 48 makes it clear that the one who rejects Jesus by not receiving his teaching, they are the ones that are going to remain under condemnation. They will be judged. They're judged already. And they will remain under that condemnation. They are in darkness. They will remain in darkness.

23:22Because they will not hear. It all makes real sense. Light has come into the world. The one who hears sees. The one who hears understands God, doesn't remain in darkness, comes out from under the darkness and embraces the light, becomes children of the light, and so escapes the condemnation of those in darkness. But notice the agent of judgment that Jesus mentions here. It's interesting because he says in 47, he says, I do not judge him, for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. The world has already been judged. It's already under condemnation. But then he goes on to say, There is one that judges him. The word which I spoke is what is going to judge him. So it is the word. And John has already made it very clear that throughout this gospel so far that all of judgment, the Father is not going to judge anybody. He has turned all judgment over to the Son. John 5, 22, 5, 27, 5, 30. And in John 9.39, we read, For judgment I came into the world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who do see may become blind. So Jesus is very clear. He's come as judge, but then he's saying he doesn't judge. It's already happening. But then he says, but one is judging. And that one is the word which he spoke.

25:13The agent of his judgment is the word which he spoke. It is presently judging. There is a sense in which we judge ourselves. In fact, John 3:18 says this: He who believes in me. Is not judged. He who does not believe has been judged already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son. This is the judgment that light has come into the world, and men love the darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil. And so there is a sense in which we judge ourselves. And what's happening in John is that he is saying, Look, you need a crucified Messiah. And they're saying, no, that doesn't fit our paradigm at all. Jesus says, you better be listening to what I'm saying. I've come into the light to explain these things to you, so you will not remain in your darkness, and you will not remain under condemnation. You better be paying attention.

26:11But they didn't. And they judged themselves by not believing. We don't need a crucified Messiah. We don't need what you are bringing or what you're talking about. And so they stay in darkness and condemnation. I know there are several professors in here. I've done a little teaching myself. And I'm one of those professors that likes to tell my students exactly what is going to be on the exam. Exactly. I tell them, here are the questions. Here are the, you're going to see this again on the exam. You're going to see this again on the exam. Okay, did I make my point clear? You need to know this because I'm going to ask this question just like this. That's the way I know there's inevitably you get that student that comes in. Well, I had no idea you were going to ask me questions about all this stuff, right? Questions. I didn't know the exam had questions, right?

27:21Well, this is what Jesus is saying. He's saying, Look, I've told you what's going to be on the final exam. That final examination. It's the word I spoke, the words that we have written down for us. That will be the judge. Did you believe? I told you, if you will believe, I told you, no one comes unless the Father draws them. And I tell you, the one who comes to me, I will certainly not cast out ever at any time whatsoever. Boom.

27:55That is the word that has been spoken. That is the plumb line. And those who don't come remain in darkness. Plumb line. Those who will not believe stay condemned. Plumb line. That's on the examination. So the one who lets culture define God rather than the Christ of Scripture will meet God as their adversary, and they will be judged. That's the second tragic consequence of loving the approval of your peers more than the approval of God. There's a third tragic consequence, and that is those who love the approval of men more than the approval of God will never truly live. Listen, if the approval of man is greater in your mind and in your heart and in your pursuit than the approval of God, then you will never truly live. Look back at verse 49. For I did not speak of my own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent me has given me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I know that His commandment is eternal life. Therefore, the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told me.

29:33You see, the reason that Jesus' words will stand true is because His words were the Father's words. He never spoke with the intention of advancing himself, but advancing his Father's glory. Very different from the men-pleasers in the synagogue. And he didn't speak like them at all because he sought to advance the glory of God. Notice the singularity of the word commandment. And notice that it's also given in the perfect tense, that is, its results are permanent.

30:15I did not speak on my own, but the Father Himself sent me, has given me a commandment. He has given me the commandment what to say, what to speak. And look at what he says in verse 45. I mean, verse 50. I know that his commandment is eternal life. And here Jesus sums up his whole ministerial duty and the heart of his father in one word. His commandment is eternal life. It's not some harsh precept that is to burden down, but it is a loving command that lifts the weight off, frees people to live life eternal, even now.

31:08And life eternal is that kind and quality of life that goes on forever. There is a kind of life that is coming to an end in judgment, the kind that is shaped after the pattern of fleshly pursuits, man living for himself, that kind of a life is coming to an end. But there is a kind of life that begins even now as you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ that goes on to eternity. And that is that kind of life that is in union and fellowship with your heavenly Father. This is his commandment: eternal life.

31:51And that's why I have said everything that I have said exactly the way he gave it to me. So that to hear my words or to hear the words of the Father, to see me is to see the Father, so that you may not remain in darkness, so that you may not remain in condemnation, but that you would truly live. What a tragedy to go through life and never truly live. And yet, that's the way many in our world go through this life, not having any fellowship with the Father.

32:27Eternal life begins when one believes in Jesus Christ. Do you believe in him? And when you do, you leave the natural state of your darkness and condemnation and enter into that glorious freedom of the children of God. So the one who lets the Christ of Scripture inform them about God, rather than the puppet masters of our popular culture, these Are the ones who enjoy fellowship with the Father now that can never come to an end, not because of us, but because of Him.

33:17And that was graphically demonstrated on the cross, right? Jesus, in union with the Father, goes to the cross and shows us the way to true glory is through death. The way to truly live is through death, not only His death, but our own daily dying. Putting down the approval and love of self and exchanging that for the approval and love of God, that's when you truly are free. So, in conclusion, those who love the approval of men more than the approval of God, number one, will remain in darkness, tragic. Number two, they will be judged, tragic. Number three, they will never truly live, tragic.

34:18So, what do we do with all this information? So, what? But we are to love the approval of God more than the approval of men. By confessing the Christ in Scripture. That's where John's taking us. Don't be like these in this religious leadership who love the approval of their peers more than the approval of God. You love the approval of God more than the approval of man, and don't be ashamed to confess him. I read a definition of political correctness this week. Political correctness in our times is the avoidance of forms of expression or action that are perceived to exclude, marginalize, or insult groups of people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against. Listen, there is nothing inherently wrong with being sensitive to those around you and the impact of your words. In fact, it is and can be a great virtue. The problem is when so-called cultural sensitivity takes priority over the sensitivity to God. When in our cultural sensitivities, we neglect what does God really think about this?

35:50You see, popular culture wants a Christ that meets with our political sensibilities. Back then, these guys did not have a have a Shelf in their mind for a crucified Messiah. That's why they needed to be instructed. The religious leaders, we don't have any room for a Christ that comes on and cleans up our temple area. Well, that didn't fit in our paradigm at all. And so they define Christ as they think he ought to be. We have the same problem in our culture today. Popular culture wants a Christ that meets with our political sympathies. We want a Christ that takes everyone to heaven.

36:39But we end up with a Christ that takes no one to heaven because he's not the Christ of Scripture. And that's what John saying, learn from him. He came as light to teach us. Let us hear with the intention of properly responding. You know, I think everybody ought to really get sued. I think there's something that I recommend getting sued, and I mean getting sued for a lot. Many years ago, I remember you guys, you all remember the big lawsuit that was put against my engineering company.

37:30Remember that, and I remember going through that, and I mean, it was to a large sum. Now, I was named one among many. I wasn't the main player, but in the whole event, they launched a big suit and named me in it. And I had to go through the whole process. I was let out earlier than the others, but nevertheless, I had to go through much of it. And I remember one of the first meetings. We had all these groups in, and there was a lot of money involved. And this mediator, if you've ever been in mediation, what typically happens is you have the parties, you have the party in one room that's offended, and then you have in another room all the parties that cause the offense, so to speak. And then you have this one little mediator that goes between. He's the one that has the information. And I can remember sitting down with this mediator, and he comes in and he starts mediating, if you will. And what he does, in some sense, what he says is very illuminatory. He's telling us what is the real offense. He's saying, Let me tell you here specifically is how my client is offended. One, two, three, four, five, six. This is what it's going to take for you to cover up that offense. One, two, three, four, five, six. Now, you guys, what do you guys want to do, right? And so that's the way it goes back and forth. But the idea is before this. Goes to court and the book of the law is thrown on you, we're giving you a chance to settle outside of court. So that's the idea of the mediation dynamic. The offended party then sends a mediator over to say, Okay, here are the terms that I want, so that I don't take you to court and try to get every single penny out of you. And that's the way many of you probably have been through that situation. Now, suppose for a moment that in that mediation dynamic, you have the offended party sending over a mediator and saying, Okay, these are my terms: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. And then that gets taken to the party that caused the offense and says, There's absolutely no way we can pay that.

40:02There is no way. And then suppose the mediator said, Yeah, I know, but your relationship is so important to me as a mediator, then I will pay out of my pocket to bring the offended party and those causing the offense together. Now, no mediator does that today. I mean, they really make good money. I mean, that's good money. But could you imagine a mediator like that? If that guy right there was a mediator, He said, you know, I have the resources.

40:33I know you can't pay it, but I can. Therefore, I can bring because I think so highly of my client that I want you to be in fellowship and union with him. Well, that's basically the story of the cross, isn't it? The Father sends out terms of peace in his son. And the son says, There's no way these that caused the offense could ever pay. But the relationship, I know my heavenly Father so much, and I know that I will pay so that there can be union between the offended and those causing the offense. And so, if you look at a cross, what you have on the cross is you have Father God on one side, and you have sinful me on the other side, completely unable to pay the price and make it right. But the Father sends terms of peace. He says, before the date of the trial, we can settle this out of court if you will understand the offense and what it's going to cost to pay your offense. In fact, I'll say it like this: the father sent terms of peace.

42:00And that's Jesus, his righteousness, his goodness, and my responsibility is to accept and believe his terms of peace or face the rule of law on my own. See, we don't, when we come to before a cross, we really don't pray to the cross. The cross is a testament. It's the relics, if you will, that testify of an incredible mediator who knew so much about his father that was willing to pay the price of our own offense so that you and I can have fellowship with our Heavenly Father.

42:48The mediator removed darkness, removed condemnation, and restored fellowship so that we may have eternal life. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for such a mediator. Help us to hear. Help us to understand. Help us to respond. Thank you that we don't have to live in darkness anymore. Those who believe these words simply on the page of Scripture, darkness is removed. Understanding is real. And those who believe, Father, do not remain under condemnation. Thank you for the cross. Thank you that it testifies to a relationship so dear to your Son and so precious to him, and his love for us and your love for us so intense that you would give us this precious gift of fellowship with you. And that came at such a cost. Help us to walk in that and to truly live. Forgive us, for we have loved the approval of our peers more than your approval. Help us to be different today by believing in the words that John has given us by your Spirit.