The Father's Gift to the Son - John 6:36-40

1:02Well, we come, in my opinion, to one of the most soul-strengthening and comforting passages in the Scripture. Suppose if you were called to the deathbed of somebody you knew and somebody you loved, and you were asked to share a portion of Scripture. What portion of Scripture would you share? Let's suppose this person is a believer. What portion of scripture would you take to comfort them as they step into eternity? Now, suppose this person you're called to minister to is a non-believer and they are standing on the brink of eternal ruin. How would you comfort or strengthen or exhort someone in that situation? How would you comfort and exhort the family members sitting around and watching as their loved one passes? Well, as a pastor, I'm often called into such situations.

2:08And I frequently, frequently use the verses that I'm going to preach on this morning in such times. Because it's in these verses we learn how to step into eternity from Jesus Himself. And I don't care who you are. The instruction in this passage will tell you how you are to step into eternity and how you are to exhort others to step into eternity. You know, there's this notion out there that you can't take anything with you, right? Have you heard that? That's false. You can take something with you when you leave this earth. I'll share that in a moment, but you can.

2:50And these words teach us not only how to step into eternity, but they also teach us how to live. Here today. And as we approach these, I'm going to say on the outset, I'm going to exhort you to be teachable, to be teachable. Because I'm concerned that some of you are not going to accept Jesus' words. There were some that day that when Jesus uttered these words, that they didn't receive his words. They didn't want Christ shaping their theological understanding of God. And so they rejected what he had to say.

3:31And I want to encourage you not to be afraid to let Jesus define your understanding of God. Do not be afraid to follow where the plain meaning of his words lead us. Be teachable. Because he says some things in these verses that may challenge some of your theological grids. But praise God, our theological grid isn't to be master over the text, but the text is to be master over our theological grid. And we can change our grid and grow in more Christ-likeness and more understanding. And so my exhortation as we approach these words, let them shape your view of God. Let them shape your view of yourself. Let them shape what's going on in the world around you. Be teachable.

4:18Don't be like that generation that heard these words and didn't receive them. Bottom line is, you're not his disciple if you do not let him teach you. And so my exhortation. Be teachable. You know, there was a time when Earth was considered to be the center of the solar system, right? All planets were thought to revolve around the earth. This put the earth in the center of the solar system. Likewise, there's a kind of theology that places man at the center. All matters rotate around us. We tend to look at God as what's in it for us, what are you going to do for me? And we view God from a perspective that's really, at its basic level, all about us.

5:10Even in our understanding of salvation and the Savior, we're thinking about ourselves. How do we get saved? And even as we approach these, and sometimes you'll see this dynamic of approaching Scripture not so much to be taught, but to be able to prove your own position. And again, you're using the doctrines of salvation and the Savior about you. How can I use this to make my point? Have you ever been guilty of that? Of a man-centered theology, approaching God? Well, I hope you're honest enough with yourself that that's basically how we naturally come into this world, thinking about ourselves. And even as we come to Christ, we still carry in this what's in it for me, what are you going to do for me?

6:00And I hope that you'll be ready to be taught this morning. Because later, you know, we actually came to find out that the Earth wasn't in the center of the solar system, that everything revolved around the sun, right? And all of a sudden, this gave us a beauty and a perspective and an awesome beauty of how the planets in motion work around the sun. So there is a theology that places God in the center. And when you have God in his right place, at the center, once you see that all things revolve around him, you will see an awesome beauty, a deep glory that will move you to your knees in soul-captivating worship. It's not about strengthening you, it's not about comforting you, it's about the worship of God. And you will be strengthened as you worship God. The byproduct is soul-strengthening. There is joy. There is comfort. All of that is a byproduct of worship. But you must first see that which is worthy of worship. And so that's my goal this morning. I want you to see something here that's worthy of worship. I want you to see the gift of Christmas, maybe in a new light. We often think of the gift of Christmas as something God gave the world, and that is true from many passages. We see that.

7:30Gave the world His Son. However, in this passage this morning, I want you to see that the Giver is the Father. The recipient is the Son. And the gift are believers in Him. And once you get your mind around this truth, your worship is going to be transformed. Strength and comfort and reverent joy will permeate who you are. So I want you to see the Father's gift to the Son this morning so that you will have a God-centered theology that drives you to true worship. Very simple outline. I want to look at the reality of the gift, the responsibility that went with it, and then our response. So the reality of the gift. Look back. First of all, the reality of the gift. It's from the Father to the Son. Look at verse 37. All that the Father gives me will come to me.

8:36See that? It's a gift. The reality of the gift is that it comes from the Father to the Son. All that the Father gives me will come to me. You see, the giver is the Father. Plain language. The recipient is Jesus. And the gift are all the people out of the world who will come to Jesus. Do you see that? Very plain language. That's an interesting question. Have you ever thought of yourself as being a gift from the Father to the Son? As a believer in Christ, have you ever thought of yourself? I'm a gift from the Father to the Son. And not one of those gag gifts. You know, you guys did a bunch of those white elephant gifts this last week, right? No, we're not talking. You're a gift. You're a gift. Those who have come, those who will come, those who are coming now are gifts that the Father is giving to Jesus.

9:38The very idea of coming involves trajectory, right? Movement away. It's the soul movement away from itself, self-reliance, inability to satisfy, moving away from all of self to union with Christ and all that that supply involves. That's what coming is: it's movement. But look back and notice the certainty with which this statement is made. They will come. All that the Father gives me will come. There is a certainty in Jesus' words here that I don't want you to miss.

10:20A people will come forth. Often we hear this language of God's grace or being Irresistible. And in this sense, it is. Coming to Jesus is the soul moving away from self, and there's a certainty that there are going to be people on planet earth that come. They will come. They will come forth. There's no question in Jesus' mind. They will go to Jesus. He's saying there is no power of external resistance or internal reluctance that's going to keep them from coming. There is a people that will come. And they are the ones that the Father has given to the Son. Profound truth. Now, certainly there will be forces that will resist. We see that all around in Scripture. Forces that resist externally. We have a real enemy that seeks to thwart, keep back. There are reluctance in us that doesn't want to go, that loves ourselves and sin.

11:33But what Jesus is saying here is that these will not ultimately prevail in those that God gives. Do you see that? Plain meaning. I remember a day I married Nancy. She came down the aisle willingly. The best of gifts that God has ever given me for sure. By a mile. And she came willingly. Bruce, my father-in-law, didn't have to hold a gun to her head. That wouldn't have been a very good gift if I had to have this caged animal, right? I was always trying to get away, right? No, no, there's something that God brought to me that day that was very special, best of his gifts. We see the same gift in Genesis 2:22 when the Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which he had taken from the man, and he brought her to the man. And paradise became paradise, right? Up until then, man was alone. And this is what made paradise paradise: this union, this love of this bride coming to the first Adam. And we have in this passage the second Adam, the true Son, the perfect Son. And guess what God's going to give to him? A bride, a people who willingly come, who willingly love, who willingly delight in him. That's the gift that the Father is giving the Son.

13:20But look back also and notice that not only the gift is from the Father to the Son, but the gift will certainly be received by the Son. Son. Look at verse 37. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me, I will certainly not cast out. Strong language there. He's saying, The one who is coming to me, the one who comes, I certainly, I will never cast out. And that's an expression saying, I will keep. Okay, I am going to keep by all means. I certainly am not going to send them out.

14:01The certainty, the Son is going to receive all who come to him. It's like those cities of refuge of old. You read about in Numbers. Numbers chapter 35, the Israelites were to set aside these cities of refuge so that if somebody unintentionally killed somebody, they may be able to flee and go to the city and have refuge. Verse 12 of Numbers 35 says, This, the city shall be to you as a refuge from the Avenger, so that the manslayer will not die until he stands before the congregation of Israel. In other words, it was important that there be a place where man could go that would be a refuge.

14:51We have an avenger that hounds us, and that is the law, the righteous standards. There is a. There is an avenger that seeks justice and righteousness. And Christ is their refuge, where completely the law of God has been satisfied. But he is their refuge. I will certainly not cast out. So, how do we know the Son will receive us? Is it because we are holy people? I like that one, pretty holy. I like that Tom. He's a swell guy. You know, maybe I'll receive him. Does that have any bearing on why he receives a person? No. There's no distinction in that, right? People do not come to Christ because they think it's a good idea. Oh, it's a good idea, all right. But that's not the ultimate reason why people come to Christ.

15:50Look back at this text. They come, why? Because they have been given to Christ from the Father. It isn't about us, is it? The Son will receive any gift that comes from the Father. He is not going to, in any way, send it out. We know how to, if somebody you love gives you a gift at Christmas, you will receive it simply because you love the person, right, that gives it to you. You're not going to throw it out. Certainly, the Most Holy Father, who loves the Most Holy Son, has given it. A gift, a choice gift to his son. And his son is absolutely in no way going to throw it out. And it has nothing to do with us, though it has everything to do with us.

16:45It has to do with this love relationship between the Father and the Son, and we're caught up right in the middle of it. Now, is that glorious or what? What a promise. What a promise to give to anyone. Jesus will not reject anyone who comes to Him. And it doesn't have to do how strong you come, just a trajectory, right? It has to do with Him. What a wonderful promise to anyone in any situation, even on their deathbed, believer or unbeliever. This is a promise that you can take with you.

17:26So, what's the response to faith to this teaching in verse 37? Do we lazily wait around until the Father gives you to Jesus? Is that the response of faith? Or is the response of faith to hear and say, I will arise and I will go to Jesus? What is the response of faith? It's not lazily waiting. He gave these words, so you will arise and come to him today. That's the response of faith. Do you really believe Jesus? Or are you going to be like that crowd that day? And said, you know what, you really don't fit my paradigm. So I'm not coming. In fact, I'm not going to follow you anymore.

18:15No, these words were given so that you and I would arise and come, and we would be coming and keep coming to his son as a gift. Well, that's the reality of the gift. Now I want you to see the responsibility that went with it. The responsibility that went with it. And the next three verses is all about the Father's will, the emphasis. You can circle the word will in the next three verses, and you'll very quickly see that the will of the Father is what it's all about. But there's certainly some responsibility that went with this gift. It's just like Caleb. You remember back in the days of Joshua, Caleb asked, he said to the Lord, Give me this mountain. Give me this hill country.

19:03And the Lord said, Yes, it's yours, but you're going to have to walk through the land. You're going to have to drive out the enemies. Caleb was ready to do that. But you see, when God gives a gift, responsibility is responsibility that goes with it. And that's no different between the Father and the Son. The Father gives a gift, but the Son has three responsibilities. I want you to see these. First of all, look at verse 38. You see, the first responsibility is the Son's subordination, the Son's subordination. Verse 38: For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. In other words, the whole reason I have come down, the whole reason I am here, Jesus is saying, is not that I should be doing what I want to do, but I have come down to do his will.

20:11This is huge. The reason that Jesus will not cast anyone out is explained right here. Because Jesus is all about doing the Father's will, the will of the one who sent him. The Son was subordinate to the mission that the Father had for him. You see, it's not about us. It's about the humble submission of the Son to the Father. And that's why he doesn't cast anyone out. By the way, as a side note, being on mission is first and foremost a matter of subordination to the will of the one having conceived of the mission in the first place. That's what missions are about: subordination to the sender. And as Jesus was subordinate to the Father who sent him, so we in the great commission today are to be subordinate to Jesus who sent us.

21:15But there's a second responsibility. The first responsibility was the Son's subordination. The second responsibility is man's preservation. Look back at verse 36. I'm sorry, 39. This is the will of him who sent me. You want to know what God's will is? This is the will of God for the Son. That of all he has given me, I lose nothing. That's God's will. I'm going to give you all this. Don't lose any of it. It's the Father's will for Jesus to keep all that he has given him. No loss.

21:59He is to keep the gift intact with all its parts. Have you ever given a gift and open it up Christmas morning, and it's like, yeah, not all the parts are here. Real bummer. This doesn't work. You know, something got lost along the way. I mean, just think about the whole nature of a gift. You think through a gift, you plan it out, you're thinking something special for this person that you'd like to get them, and then you want to give them the gift, and you give them all of this, right? But the whole thing, nothing worse than a gift that comes. Missing some key parts, and then it doesn't function properly, right? Because it doesn't have all the parts. No, the gift that the Father gives the Son is to be preserved, it's to be kept in its entirety, the whole and the little parts. That's the responsibility of the Son.

22:50You know, I think one of the greatest fears we have is the fear of loss. Right, we love bargains, don't we? We love to get one up, make a good buy. We hate paying too much, right? Years ago, let me just tell you this: if you want to learn how to make money in the stock market, don't come to me. I do absolutely everything wrong every time. And just recently, you know, I mean, years ago, I had set up some funds for my kids in college or to go to college, to save money, right, and put them in stocks and everything. And then a few years ago, I took them out, or about a year ago, and took them all out and just said, you know what? Everybody knows that the stock market can't go above 20,000.

23:43Right? And some of you are going, yeah, man, it's great. But I can remember just in every, every juncture I ever got involved with the stock market was just like, you know, I did it wrong again, did it wrong again. And there's a sense of loss. Have you ever known that? Whether you pay too much for a meal or whether you. You get a lower grade, or you get it, you're like, oh, I knew the answer to that. I could have.

24:06Or whether it's relationships, whether it's friends, whatever it is, we don't like loss, right? Well, guess what? The same is true about Jesus. You can identify. And the thought of loss of any portion of the Father's gift is absolutely unthinkable to Jesus. Think about that. I want you to look back at 6:12, and after he had, when he did this miracle, the feeding of all these 20,000 people, he made bread, and he fish, and by boatloads, right? He had all this stuff, and he had the ability to make all this stuff. And then he makes this curious statement in verse 12. When they were filled, after they had all eaten, he said to his disciples, Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.

25:02I thought, as I was translating this and going through it, I thought, this is really curious, almost out of step. Why could he, if he can make all this stuff, why is he so concerned about the little fragments? I love these little verses that give us insight into the personality of Jesus. It's the same word there. I don't want anything to be lost, whether it's the little fragments. Bread, and more importantly, people in verse 39. Jesus does not intend to lose anyone the Father gives to him.

25:43But he's not about the bread, he's about people. But the point of all this, Jesus is not going to lose the gift that the Father gives to him. And this is a thought of the greatest comfort. Our assurance of our final spiritual well-being is not upon our feeble ability to hold on to him, but upon his firm commitment to the Father. It's not ultimately, even to us. It's to hold on to us because we are a gift that has been given to him from the Father. And to honor the Father, that's why he holds on to us. Now, that's assurance because it doesn't. I love it when I don't enter into the equation.

26:39Well, three responsibilities of the gift. Number one, the Son's subordination. Number two, man's preservation. And number three, man's resurrection. Look at verse 39. This is the will of Him who sent me, that of all He has given me, I lose none. And look at that last phrase, but raise it up on the last day. Resurrection. Then he goes on to verse 40. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I myself will raise him up the last day.

27:20This is the will. The last day. Now, this is a time marker. That's the last day of human history as we know it, and it's the first day of the eternal state. And here is the Father's will. And it's expressly stated here: simple language. Let this shape you. Everyone beholding and believing should be having eternal life now, and Jesus will personally bodily resurrect them at the end of the age. And when he uses this expression, these two expressions, the ones beholding and the one believing in him, I think Jesus has a, communicates the same idea that he had communicated previously to Nicodemus. Remember in John 3:14, he said these words, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so the Son of Man must be lifted up, speaking of his crucifixion, so that whoever believes in him will have eternal life. Whoever is believing will be having eternal life. You know, we spend a lot of time on this whole issue of the bronze serpent lifted up in the wilderness. You remember, and if people were bit by these fiery serpents, the Israelite who was bitten could turn and look to this bronze serpent, and the death sentence would be removed, and he would go on living. And just as the fiery serpent bitten Israelite could look at the bronze serpent or behold the bronze serpent and be saved, so every sin-bitten person can look to Christ crucified and go on living.

29:12The one beholding and the one believing, the one taking it in. And this is a life-giving thought. Let's bring this truth down to a real personal level to us here today. And think about this: it's not the Father's will that those who come to Him be lost. Let me put it this way: let me just put it in the very personal. Let me talk about myself. It is not the Father's will, or it is the Father's will that I not be lost. That is the Father's will, that I not be lost.

29:51Number two, to ensure that I, Tom Baber, will not be lost, the Father has committed the salvation of my soul. To Jesus. Now, think about those things. It is the Father's will that I not be lost. And to ensure that I not be lost, the Father committed the salvation of my soul to Jesus. I want to throw in a third thought here. If Jesus, if I was lost, what does this say about Jesus? Either he was incapable of receiving the gift the Father gave, or he was disobedient, right?

30:39And neither one of those are a possibility in my mind. Do you see where Scripture takes us? Scripture takes us to the absolutely unthinkable, and it puts us at a crossroads between the absolutely unthinkable and the absolutely glorious. And it leaves us no middle ground. Either you're going to have to believe that Jesus is incapable of receiving you or disobedient and will not, or you have to believe that you will not be lost if you have come to Him. You see the glorious difference? Let this settle in your soul. It would be an everlasting shame to the Son if I was lost. And I say that reverently. Because there's nothing in me that deserves to be saved, or nothing in me that deserves eternal life. But if the Son did not receive the gift that the Father gave to him, it would be to his eternal shame. Oh, I lost that one part, that one part, and that will become the major throughout eternity. No, he is going to receive it all, and the gift is all who come to him.

32:04So, what do you do? You come to him, the promise is for all. But here's another glorious truth: resurrection is necessary. Resurrection, I love this. I myself will raise him up on the last day. Resurrection is absolutely necessary, and you know why? Because death cannot have the final word, death cannot blot out the life that Jesus gives. In him is life, and that life will have expression. And death isn't going to have the final word, and that is why there must be a resurrected body that can perfectly and vividly show the life of Christ forever. And that's why the last day. Of this existence is the first day of the eternal state. It's where all this is going. The life of Jesus must be exhibited in glorified humanity and for all eternity.

33:15Starting to see the importance of a God-centered theology of what's happening here. Well, what's our response to be to all this? Well, as you've been working our way through John, there's been three major metaphors that describe our response. Number one is seeing. Number two is eating. Number three is drinking. So seeing, metaphor, taking in with your eyes, eating, taking in by chewing and swallowing, drinking, taking in by gulping down. That's all this is metaphor of the soul bringing these truths in, right? In fact, we use these metaphors all the time, right? You can feast your eyes on a sunset or on a beautiful scene. We speak of devouring books, right? We speak of drinking in a speech. John's doing the same thing, taking in. But then he uses more explicit language. Be beholding. This is what you're to do. Be beholding. That is, be carefully paying attention to the revelation about Christ. Be seeing, be perceiving, be growing.

34:30In our comprehension and understanding of Jesus. That's what it means to behold, to be beholding, to be taking in, perceiving, comprehending. He uses the expression, becoming, becoming to him. This is the movement of the soul from its old life, the old sin predicament, the dangerous sin predicament, and total inability to satisfy to all that which life in Jesus supplies. Movement, becoming to him. Finally, he uses the expression, be believing, be believing, speaking of a growing confidence. It's all trajectory, right? Be believing, be in a state of growing confidence in the truth regarding the Jesus of Scripture. It's a soul reliance more. That's how we are to respond. Coming and believing, certainly in this context, is the dominant thing. Be coming, be believing.

35:28And in short, this is what obeying the gospel means. Obedience to the gospel means beholding, coming to him, and believing in him. I love Spurgeon's comments, how he talks about saving faith. Say this, you cannot prove your election without proving your salvation. First, you prove your salvation and then you never doubt your election. How do you prove your salvation? By beholding, by coming, by believing. Spurgeon said it like this: What then is the essence of saving faith? It is this: trust in Christ, dependence, reliance upon him. It is a belief that Jesus Christ is the appointed Savior of the world, that he is also the atonement for sin, and it is more than that. It is a trusting in the work of Christ to save you. You, personally. Faith is coming empty-handed and accepting Christ's fullness, to come naked and to take his righteousness to be your glorious dress, to go vile to the fountain which he has filled with blood, to be washed therein. In fact, faith is having done with all self-confidence and to put your whole reliance in the Lord Jesus Christ. See, but I digress. It's not all about us, is it?

37:17Or even our salvation. You see, we still have this habit of making everything about us. And we will reduce theology to what is in it for us. And though salvation certainly involves us, it is not about us. It is about him. It is about this beautiful relationship between the Father and His Son, and a love relationship that is profound and deep and intense. That's what it's about. You come back to this sun-centered solar system and know for certain that the Father has given to Jesus a people from every tribe and every nation to be his own peculiar people.

38:14The saints, people, are given to Christ by the Father. And Jesus has undertaken the task to save them completely and to present them complete at the end of the day. And no matter how unbelievers may abuse this truth, and it is a truth that gets abused over and over and over, it is a truth that needs to be the rock-bottom solid part of your soul. Let this truth come in. Let this truth define your relationship, a gift. Given to the Son. That is me. And I don't deserve any of it.

39:09You see, Emmanuel, brothers and sisters, we did not begin the work of his salvation. We are given to Christ by the Father as an everlasting gift, everlasting bride. Your gift. And not a gag gift, right? So don't live like one. So, how do we die? How do you step into eternity? Come to Him, standing on His promises. We're all say you can't take anything out of this world, but I beg to differ. There is something you can take out of this world. In fact, there's a lot of things you can take out of this world. You can take the promises of Christ with you, and that's how you go into eternity, standing on what the Son of God said. You can take that. And that is how you enter eternity. That is how you exhort others to enter eternity. That is how you comfort those who are on the brink of going into eternity. He will certainly not cast you out, so go rejoicing. Not because you're anything, but because he is everything.

40:30Teaches us how to die. But it also teaches us how to live, right? Standing on his promise. Let this truth come in and be the core of who you are. And if you haven't come to him, come today. Move away from your sin. Move away from your self-reliance. Move away from your pathetic inability to satisfy your own soul and turn to him and say, Lord, save me. And if you've been walking for him for years, internalize this truth all the more. Live freely, live boldly.

41:17Heavenly Father, thank you. Thank you that we're part of something that goes far beyond us. Father, and as we see the glorious truth of salvation and we put you in the center and we realize our part and our role, it becomes so glorious, so far more glorious than a selfish preoccupation with ourselves could ever produce. Though we recognize, Lord, it is truly a blessing to us. We give you thanks for the glorious salvation that we have experienced and we know.

41:57But, Father, beyond that, we. We see the glorious beauty, the rightness of your son having a people that will come to him, that will love him. Father, and after being crucified, having been rejected, Father, yet we know that there is a people that his very rejection was for, so that they would come. Lord, ever let us be that people that comes, believing, coming, and believing. Let us ever be beholding and seeing and understanding more. Father, and this is beyond our ability to accomplish, so we rely upon your grace to draw this out of us. In Christ's name, amen.