The Witnesses at Bethesda Part 3 - The Relationship Between Jesus and Humanity - John 5:25-30

0:55Last week I had the privilege of visiting a local Malawian church, one of my students' pastors there. And he shared with us the way he grew up thinking about the graveyard, and by virtue, or by implication, how others like him in the African context grew up thinking about the graveyard. He said that many Africans, including himself, view the graveyard as a place Where the spirits of the departed roam. They often come out at night and they wreak havoc on the villages.

1:40And he noticed one time while traveling abroad the difference between the graveyards in those Christian cultures and those in his culture. We have a graveyard right across the street. It's green, it's open, it's well kept. And when we moved out here, I thought, this is great. I like the idea of having a graveyard around us because development will never come here, right? It's going to stay green. It's going to stay kept, right? Well, in Africa, it's very different. In tribal Africa, the graveyards are dark, they are remote, they are covered by bushes and trees, they are not very well accessible, and they are places to be avoided. In fact, if two people are walking by a graveyard, as they get to the boundary of where the graveyard is, they are to stop talking. And until they pass by the graveyard, then they can resume their conversation. Likewise, you're not even supposed to point to a graveyard. For fear that you would arouse or anger a spirit and you would be jinxed or cursed or worse. Such is the fear associated with the realm of the dead in many African contexts. But in the area where the truth is known, there is no fear of the graveyards of such.

3:22We who know, we know who the Lord of the grave is, and our thoughts are certainly not fear, not like they have fear. I have a degree of fear in graveyards, but it's a whole different element. I fear for those who have gone because I know where they are, and I know that one day they will give an account to their Creator for the lives that they have lived. And so it's a very different feeling for us being near a graveyard who know the truth.

4:05I know they are not spirits that are walking around looking for someone to terrorize. Their spirits are kept in their place, reserved till the final judgment over the one who is Lord over the grave. And we know who this Lord is. His name is Jesus. And he is from Nazareth, and he is the Lord. However, This is only one kind of graveyard, right? There is a physical graveyard, but there is another graveyard that we need to speak about today. Look back in verse 24.

4:44Jesus said, Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and does not come into judgment but is passed out of death into life. Jesus reveals to us in this verse that there are two kinds of living. We looked at this last time. There is the earthly kind of living, which is characterized by separation from God, sin, the guilt and consequences and sorrow that goes along with such separation from God and sin. Such people are incarcerated in the graveyard of their own fallen natural desires. We could call them the graveyard of the living dead.

5:37I think that some of you here today may be in such a graveyard. You are alive physically, but dead to God spiritually. You are like a spirit that roams the earth, walking around, terrorizing the world by serving your own. Fleshly appetites and exploiting others to serve you in that capacity. It's the graveyard of the living dead. But that was also many of us, wasn't it? 1 Corinthians 6:9, Paul says, Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor infeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

6:39Such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. That is the earthly kind of life, and it is characterized as a graveyard. And though they are dead spiritually, they are alive physically and roam. But then there is the eternal kind of life that Jesus speaks about, verse 24, a life that is characterized by union with God, joy in his ways. Such people have heard the gospel and have been raised from the graveyard of the living dead, and now they are in the living, living. They are the living living.

7:35Such are some of you. Where are you today? Where are you in the graveyard of the living dead? Or have you been called out of that darkness and now among the living living, those who are alive physically and alive to God? Well, we know who raised them. His name is Jesus. And he has been given such authority from the Father to raise people out of the grave of the living dead. Daniel chapter 7, verse 13 and 14, Daniel records part of a vision that he saw. I'm going to read you a portion of that. I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, one like a Son of Man was coming. And he came up to the ancient of days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away. And his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.

9:00Ever since these words were written down by Daniel, there has been an expectation, an eager expectation of the coming of this magnificent individual whom the ancient of days grants an unparalleled authority to rule over the peoples of the earth for all time. You can make three observations from this passage. First of all, his kingship is eternal. Second, his kingdom is eternal. And third, his subjects are eternal. And since Daniel's time, two questions have been asked about this individual, pondered, and diligently searched into. The two questions, who is this king and who are his people? The wise men came from the east because they knew who this king was. They gave him the treasures of their lives. Well, it's clear from our time already at Bethesda, we're at the pool of Bethesda in chapter 5, that Jesus is the king. He demonstrates and claims an authority that only God possesses.

10:21He has already declared in verse 21 that he has the authority to dispense life. That's something only God can do. Can do. And in verse 22, he has the authority to judge everything. Jesus is going to reiterate these same truths in our passage this morning. So we know already, just from our time in this passage, who this king is. We also know who his people are. We know who his people are. They are the ones who honor him. Verse 24, by hearing him and by believing that the words that Jesus speaks are the very words of God himself.

11:12So we know who the king is, the eternal king. We know who his eternal people are. And it's in this context that Jesus goes on to speak about his power and authority over two resurrections. Two resurrections. He has the power to raise the dead, both the spiritually dead and the physically dead. Those who are currently spiritually dead to God, he has the power to raise. And those who are physically dead to earth, he has the power to raise. And I want to look at this authority, and I want you to see his authority over these two. Resurrections so that you will listen to his voice and so that you will follow him more aggressively. This is the king. This is the ruler. This is the judge of the living of the dead.

12:17I want you to see his authority because this authority touches your life. And I want you to do so so that you will listen, so that we will be a church. If there's one thing I want for Emmanuel Baptist Church, it is that we will be a people who listen carefully to Christ's word and we follow him more aggressively, that we grow in our aggressive following of Christ. So, two resurrections I want to look at: Jesus' authority over these two resurrections. The first authority is over a president, a present resurrection. I want you to see a present resurrection. Look at verse 25. I want you to see the timing of it. First of all, you need to see the timing of it. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is. It's an hour that is already coming, like a plane that has left its place and flying to its destination. It is already in route. An hour is coming. It's in route and now is. It is already here. So, an hour that is coming and yet is already here. It is later, that it is going to be here later, and it is now. It is coming, and it is here. It is something that's going to be going on in the future, but it's something that's happening right now as he speaks. The timing of it. It's here and it's going to continue.

13:57Next, I want you to see the cause of it. Verse 25: Truly, truly I say to you, an hour is coming, and now is when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God. So, the cause of this present resurrection is the voice of God, the voice of the Son of God. Notice, they will hear. When the dead hear the voice of the Son of God, they will hear. Look at the effect of it there. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and now is when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear, that is, those having heard, they will live.

14:49They will live. Interesting connection here. You see, when God speaks, there's going to be an answer. Does not just speak into thin air. When he speaks, life is created. Those who are dead, who cannot hear, when he calls them, they hear. Let me tell you, you need two people for a relationship, right? He doesn't just speak into air. So his very word, when he calls, they hear, and a dead person cannot hear. You see what's happening here? Present resurrection, there's an effect. The voice of God. The Son has life within himself. He gives life, the very life that he possesses, by speaking to the dead. And when he speaks, they hear.

15:46They come to life. They are irresistibly brought to a life of hearing, into a life of a hearing relationship with the Son. You see, the dead cannot hear unless they are brought to life. And what brings them to life? The voice of the Son of God. It's interesting. Spurgeon used to say, you know, he used to say, I can tell a preacher by the way they're shaped. You know, this is back before the days of the microphone. He said, I can tell a preacher by he's got a big, powerful voice. That can project. And I can tell a young man, if he thinks he's called to the preacher, but he's scrawny, then I know God hasn't called him to the ministry because he can't preach, right? Well, then we got microphones, and that kind of does away with all. But think about this powerful voice that was in their midst, a voice that could call and waken the dead. You see, the Jews' response to all this was not at all like the woman at the well. They were opposing him, they were fighting him, they didn't understand all that Jesus was saying, but they didn't want to know anymore. They had shut him off, closed him out, and wanted to kill him. The woman, on the other hand, she didn't understand, fully understand Jesus either. It's very clear.

17:20But what she did know, she learned, she knew this much. He was good. What he had to offer was genuine. And she said, whatever you have, I want. Give me some of that living water, even though I fully don't understand it. And he gave. He gave. What a very good prayer for us to say to God in all honesty, say, you know, I don't understand the full scope of who you are and don't understand everything there is about your son.

17:54But I do come to you, and I ask you to give me whatever you know I need. You know what I need, and I ask you to give that to me. An honest prayer is: God, do in me whatever you know needs to be done. There is a shepherd. There is a God who very much knows you very well, and he cares for you very well. What an amazing gift. A family is blessed when they have a father in the home that is paying attention to the details of the family, to the individuals who will give of himself sacrificially, who has his head in the game. Likewise, a mother, I'm very thankful for mothers who are engaged, who are watchful, sacrificial, who care.

18:54Those are gifts. Those are gifts. But there is a gift that surpasses even the best of fathers and the best of mothers, and that is a good shepherd. One who knows you, who pays attention to you, who is engaged in what's going on in your life, who loves you intensely, who loves you sacrificially. This is a gift that God has given humanity. Will you hear his voice today saying, Come. And follow me. He is good. So we looked at the timing of this current resurrection that's going on now. We see the cause of this current resurrection that's going on now. We see the effect of this resurrection. I want you to see the reason for it. The reason for it. The reason for this present resurrection that is going throughout the earth right now is due to two endowments that the Father has granted the Son. And if we were in the context of Daniel 7, I would say it like this: two endowments that the ancient of days has granted the Son.

20:14First, the grant of life, giving, capacity. Second, judgment. Judgment. The freedom to decide the fate of every individual. Look at verse 26. For just as the Father has life in himself, even so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself. And he gave him authority to execute judgment because he is the Son of Man. Notice the phrase, the Son of Man, there. He has the power to execute judgment because he is the Son of Man.

21:00Interesting, a few verses back, he's talking about the life-giving power because he is the Son of God. You see, for a person to come alive, they have to hear from God. And he is the Son of God who speaks. But in the context of judgment, he uses the title Son of Man. Who can bring God and man together but the one who fully knows God? Who can fully know God except God Himself? And yet, who can be a perfect judge for humanity that knows the mind of God exhaustively and also knows humanity exhaustively, not just in theory, but in experience? It's the Son of Man.

21:50So, He is the one who gives life. He is the one who judges. Now, that's authority. That's authority. What better way for the Father to exalt the Son than to let him decide the fate of every individual on earth, past, present, and future? Now, that's authority. What better way for the ancient of days to exalt the Son and give him authority than to give him life-giving capacity? And commit all judgment into his hand. That's authority. That is authority.

22:40The question comes down: who's going to hear? Who is going to hear his voice? And who will not hear his voice? It's a very important question, right? I'm going to tell you something. I'm going to have a confession for you. After all the years of studying the Bible, I don't know the answer. The answer to this question isn't within me, and it's not within any other man. The answer is in Jesus Himself. He alone knows who He will call.

23:16That's in His authority. But the question is not who will hear and who will not hear. The question is: how are you going to respond in light of the fact that all authority concerning your life is placed in His hands? That's the question. I can't get into the mind of Christ other than what He has revealed. And He will be gracious to whom He will be gracious, He will have compassion upon who He will compassion, and He has reserved that. It's in his mind. That authority is given to him.

24:07But the question for us: how should you and I live in light of the fact that all authority involving our lives is in his hand? That's the question. He has been given authority. The answer is already in our text. You honor him. We looked at this last time, right? What would you do if somebody held your fate in your hands? How do you respond to them? Honor, right? Respect. How do you honor him? By hearing him, by listening carefully to what he is saying, and believing that the Father is indeed speaking to us through him.

24:58That's how we are to live. Honor him by carefully listening and aggressively believing everything that he says. You see, when Adam and Eve died, there was no immediate physical change, but a spiritual one that resulted in physical death later. Likewise, those who hear his voice now do not immediately experience a physical reconstitution, but they do experience a spiritual reconstitution. That one day can't help be completely clothed and consummated in eternal glory and new body. This is why we proclaim his word.

25:46Through it, through the communication of his word, he calls people. And people who hear his voice come alive. That's the current resurrection. It's the resurrection that raises the living dead to be the living living. And yet, in our passage, Jesus speaks of another resurrection that's coming on the horizon. So we've looked at Jesus' authority over a present resurrection. Now I want you to see Jesus' authority over a future resurrection. Jesus' authority over a future resurrection. And here, the graveyard in view is the physical graveyard, much like the one right across the street. And it involves all of those who are physically dead, whose bodies are buried, entombed, cremated, lost, unaccounted for.

26:57And this is something, if you look at verse 20, 28 There. This is something to marvel at. Do not marvel at this. Jesus starts, and this is the only imperative in this command, in this section. He says, Don't be marveling at this, what I just said, that I give life to whom I don't be marveling about this. I'm going to give you something to marvel about. For an hour is coming. It is on its way. It is left. It is on its way. In which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice. All in their graves, wherever they may be, scattered, lost, through wars, wherever, throughout history, all who are in their graves, they shall hear the voice. They shall hear his voice.

28:03Imagine a voice like this. I spent a little time with my 13-year-old son, and I asked him if I could share this story, and he said yes. I mean, you really get to know your 13-year-old son when you have to sleep together for a couple weeks or nearly a couple of weeks under a mosquito net in a very small bed crammed up against each other, and you have to draw the boundary lines and try to figure out how we're going. Going to make this work. Let's do our best. But I learned something about my son. He's like sleeping with Tigger.

28:39Now, if you know Tigger, you know, Tigger, you know, the wonderful thing, you know, tops are made out of rubber, bottoms made out of spring. They bounce a bounce, bounce, and bounce a fun, fun, fun, fun, fun. Unless you're sleeping with them, of course, right? But he also talks in his sleep. He mumbles in his sleep. I mean, I had this little phone, and I got this white noise background. We could listen to oceans or streams, and we had all that going on. I had earplugs in, and trying to, and then he'd roll over, my eyes would go and stay that way for a little while, you know.

29:22But imagine, now, he didn't wake up anybody else in the house. It was only there. I could hear it. But imagine a voice that can wake the dead. You know, we've heard of voices that can hit such a pitch that they can actually break glass. Imagine a voice that can wake the dead. You see, there's a three-step sequence in this resurrection. First of all, everyone will hear his voice. Everyone will hear his voice. Second, everyone will come forth. Look at this. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming in which all. Who were in the tombs will hear his voice and will come forth. They will proceed out of the grave.

30:12Now, this is something to marvel at. Can you imagine the power of a person? Can you imagine the power of a voice that can call forth everyone in the grave and they must obey? Now, that's authority. That's a power on something we hardly can't even fathom. But Jesus Himself is saying, Don't marvel at what I just said, but marvel at this. They cannot come out until they are called out. And when they are called out, they must come out and face the one who called them out. That's the fate of every human being. Hebrews 9:27 says, And insomuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes judgment.

31:08So everyone will hear his voice. Everyone will come forth. And the third step in this sequence: everyone will be judged by Jesus. Look at verse 29. Those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life. Those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. More literal reasons. A little more literal translation would be: Those the good having done into a resurrection of life, but those evil, bad, worthless having practice into a resurrection of condemnation. You see, there is a resurrection of life that is coming. And what is a resurrection of life? Think about it: a raising for the purpose of living, a raising for the purpose of really living. That's a resurrection of life. It's a kind of life that is in fellowship with the nature and character of God. That's a life worth living from the author himself.

32:23Paul gives us a snapshot of what this life will be like. Ephesians 2:4. He says this, but God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ, for by grace you have been saved, and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ. Why? Here's the answer: so that in the ages to come, he might show the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness towards us. Towards us in Christ Jesus. Now that's a resurrection of life. When you were raised for the purpose that God may show the surpassing riches of His kindness toward you. Now that's living, right? It's the consummation of a new life that is forever being cemented in union with God. And let me tell you, you talk about marrying well?

33:27I see some guys who marry well. I see some gals who marry well, and others, not so much. But boy, talk about marrying well. Can you imagine? I mean, when you marry well, all that individual pours into your life. I mean, I've married well. I know what I'm talking about. But I'm talking about go on a level far superior to that. Being married in union with God, you are joined to His exceeding, surpassing riches and goodness that He will shower upon you endlessly just because He is good.

34:14Now that's living. But there's another. But I think one important question to ask is: how does one do the good, right? Good deeds. The word deeds doesn't show up there. It's really important. Translators put that in there, but it's more of how does one do the good? That's the question. And what is good? Well, I can tell you this much: it's not atoning for sin. The good deed isn't so that you go and atone for your own sin. No, it's the good deed, the good is the one who honors the Son and the Father by listening to the Son and believing that the Father is indeed in the Son. That's those who trust in Christ, those who trust in His Son are well-pleasing to the Father. That's why the Father gave Him, so that we would trust in Him. This is what pleases Him.

35:21Do you trust Him? So, the one hearing the Son and believing, this is the one doing the good. But then there's a resurrection of judgment, and here condemnation is in view. There is a kind of living that is not in union with God. And we see it all around. They're like walking corpses, the living dead. God is their own fleshly appetite, and they will create religions and philosophies to get them where they want to go. And they will exploit, they will use people and things to their own service.

36:09Tyrants, the living dead. That's the kind of life that is characterized by separation from God. And that is the kind of life that is going to be forever cemented and consummated in separation. Just as there is a consummation of union for eternity, so there is a consummation of separation for eternity. And so they are raised for a future eternal separation. But it's important to note that they are already condemned. John 3:17 says this: For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. He who believes in him is not judged. He who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

37:17See, there must be a resurrection of all, so that the judge of all can render his verdict, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. All the question is, what does the evidence, what does the story of the evidence of your life say? What does your faith speak of? Well, let's move on. We've looked at Jesus' authority over a present resurrection, Jesus' authority over a future resurrection. I want you to see this final verse, verse 30. I can do nothing on my own initiative. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just because I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

38:17Now, Jesus ends basically where he began this whole witness statement in verse 19. Look back at verse 19. And keep in mind what's going on in this context. There has been the miracle at Bethesda, then it's followed up by the controversy at Bethesda, where they're seeking to kill him because he's claiming equality with God. And then Jesus goes into this lengthy discourse, and I call it the witness discourse because a series of witnesses are going to come forward. Jesus starts with himself, and he says this in his opening statement in verse 19. Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, Truly, truly I say to you, the Son can do nothing of himself unless it is something he sees the Father doing.

39:01So he lays it all out there. He says, I do. Yes, I am equal with God. In fact, I do exactly what the Father is doing. I can only do that. But notice how he's talking in the third person. The Son can do nothing of himself in verse 19, unless it is something he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. But look at verse 30. Notice he says the same things, but he changes the person, right? I can do nothing on my own initiative, as I hear. And my judgment is just because I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me. In other words, he's saying, Let me tell you something. No longer am I just referring to myself as the Son of God and the Son of Man. I'm saying, I am the Son of God. Very direct.

40:01You see, but Jesus is saying he only does what pleases the Father. He has no interest in his own will. What this makes Jesus is the most impartial judge because he wants to serve the Father, do the Father's will. He has no mingled interests, but to please the Father. It's an interesting deal that what Jesus is doing here. So Jesus is saying to these Jews, yes, I am claiming equality with God because I am the Son of God, and you will do well to acknowledge me as such. Everything I do and say is in full accord with God Himself.

40:58And he goes on to say, and it's like he's going on to say, oh, and by the way, I will be the judge that presides over your case in the resurrection. You see, what may look like these men are judging Jesus, the opposite is happening. Friend, the gospel goes through the earth, and it comes to you humbly. It comes humbly. But don't think that you have a position of judgment upon the gospel. It is the gospel that judges you.

41:37I remember one day when a lady, elderly lady, homeless, came up to the church needing some help. Of course, we see this quite a lot, and there's a tendency that we can get cynical. Hear what was a similar story to what I had heard before. And I sat there for a moment. Come to me for help. And I realized, as I'm sitting there trying to slice and dice her story and make everything meet, that I'm not really judging her, she's judging me. She's the one who comes with the need. She will be the one who's in the best position to see what kind of person I was or am.

42:25Likewise, the gospel comes to us. The word is preached to you. God sends those people in your life. And don't think that you judge God. It is He who is finding out the kind of individual you are. And it is by these deeds that you will be known. Well, all will hear His voice. All. Not all in the same way. All will hear, but not all in the same way. So how should we respond? How should we respond to this truth that has been laid before us this morning?

43:09Well, we should respond by desiring to hear the voice of the Son of God now. That's why John puts this here, by the way. We should desire to hear the voice of the Son now. The ones who are hearing him are alive to him. And this is the response that pleases the Father. Yeah, by now in John, you should be able to see what a perfect, good, kind, and impartial king King Jesus is. Listen, the older I get, the more I see the chaos in life. The greatest peace that comes to my soul is that God has appointed such an individual as this peasant from Nazareth to be the ruler, king, and judge of all. That gives me more peace, more comfort in life than anything I know. He is good. He is wise, impartial. Don't you want to hear him more? Don't you want to follow him more aggressively?

44:25That's a life worth living. It's the character of eternal life now. Well, we know about God's promise to establish an eternal king. We know who he is. He is Jesus of Nazareth. We know who his people are, those who honor him by hearing. Do you desire such an individual to rule over your life? Do you hear his voice calling you? He has given you every reason to come to him, and he has given you no reason not to come, no matter who you are.

45:13So I pray for you and for us, for me, that we will all seek to listen to Jesus more carefully and follow him more aggressively. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, whom you have given such authority. Father, and it was wise that you gave him such authority so that all would honor him. Truly, he is worthy to be honored. Father, give us everything we need, even if we don't understand all that we need. We know that you are good, and so we ask you to do whatever needs to be done in our lives, write whatever needs to be writed.

46:10We come to you, thanking you for your Son, that he is interested in our well-being. Wow, what a gift. Father, may we never take this gift lightly? What a gift. One who cares for our souls, one who. Knows everything about us. Help us to listen more intently and follow more aggressively. In Jesus' name, amen.