Embracing God's Sovereignty Amidst Unbelief and Redemption

Father we tremble at the thought of your blinding and hardening work and we are so thankful that Jesus didn't come into the world to judge the world but that the world through him might be saved I don't want to be the instrument of anyone's hardening tonight I don't want to be the aroma from death to death I tremble at the prospect of consigning anyone to destruction through bringing them to the point of decisive unbelief through exposing them to the brightness of the glory which they hate so God I'm asking that you would come and by your power and in your mercy because of Christ open eyes instead of closing them softening hearts instead of hardening them awakening faith instead of confirming unbelief. [00:00:10]

Jesus and John don't tell us sad things to leave us in sadness make sure you embrace that they tell us sad things in the end to make us glad the dark things in the Bible are spoken for the sake of light the ugly things in the Bible are spoken for the sake of beauty the painful things in the Bible are spoken for the sake of comfort the sorrowful things in the Bible are spoken for the sake of joy and conflict is pictured in the Bible for the sake of peace we know this because what Jesus said in John 15 11 he said that he speaks his words so that our joy might be full and many of those words were painful. [00:04:01]

Feel the weight of this moment these are the last things he has to say publicly to an audience in public let it weigh on you think about that think why would he choose to talk like this then it's over goes to the Last Supper and everything else in the Gospel of John he says to his disciples by themselves except for the trial in the execution there's something strange about the way John sets up these closing verses and I mean verses 44 to 50 look back at chapter 12 verse 36 we ended with it last week and the last thing we said was believe in the light and and you will become sons of light. [00:06:01]

Whoever believes in Me believes not in me but him who sent me whoever sees me sees him who sent me first to last that's been one of the main points hasn't it if you've seen me you've seen the father if you have me you have the father if you know me you know the father if you deny me the son you don't have the father whoever confesses the son has the father also what do you do with Jesus today is not time-bound you do with God the evidence of what you think of God and what you do with God it's what you do with Jesus if he's your God God is your God if he's not he's not no matter what you say in your head or right or believe if Jesus is not your God God is not your God what you do with Jesus is what you do with God. [00:10:34]

I have come into the world as light so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness this is the last public mention of Jesus being the light of the world and it's been the mention from the beginning chapter 1 verse 5 the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not will not cannot overcome it everyone who received Jesus passes out of darkness into everlasting light now the last three verses of his ministry the emphasis falls on his words I'm gonna read them and I'm gonna try to underline them with my voice do you follow in your text and and listen as I try to show you how I how I feel the shift the shift is off of light now on to the window to light the words are the window through which you see his light and through which you climb into fellowship with his life. [00:11:06]

If anyone hears my words and does not keep them I don't judge him I did not come to judge the world but that the world but to save the world the one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day for I have not spoken on my own authority but the father who sent me has himself given me a commandment to say to speak and I know that this commandment is life its eternal life what I say therefore I say as the father has told me we know Jesus we know the father and we are saved and have eternal life through the word of Jesus surely his point here is don't ever ever lose your grip on the value of my words to whom shall we go Peter said you have the words of life Jesus said my word is life and spirit. [00:13:34]

The reason Jesus came into the world was to be crucified the Son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many jesus said came to died in the place of sinners two thousand years later sitting in a service in Minneapolis that's why he came is to die so that you could live and the means to that was the unbelief of Israel the path that God planned for him the path that would lead to the cross where he would give himself up as a substitution for sinners was a path that led through the unbelief of Israel and make possible the salvation of the world so you can see where this is going this sad text this sad account of the unbelief of Israel is designed by John and designed by God to bring everlasting gladness to the world joy to the world is the point of the unbelief of Israel joy to the world is the point of the unbelief of Israel it's God's point God's plan. [00:20:42]

God's planning of the unbelief and blindness and hardness of Israel does not take away or contradict the personal responsibility of Israel or the guilt of Israel or the blameworthiness of this unbelief how do we know that Jesus said in John 3:18 John 3 verse 18 whoever believes in Him is not condemned but whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God in other words unbelief in Israel is worthy of condemnation this unbelief is guilty unbelief they are responsible accountable for the unbelief that they are full of against Jesus our unbelief tonight in this room our unbelief Sunday morning December 11 is guilty unbelief no excuse so many signs so many evidences so much glory so much light our hardness is a guilty harness our blindness is guilty blameworthy Linus. [00:25:56]

The root of Israel's unbelief is that they loved the glory of man and they did not love the glory of God or look look at verse 41 and let's put all the pieces together now we're almost we're almost finished putting the pieces together we'll draw things to a close with three conclusions verse 41 is the last piece in the puzzle I say John is commenting on what he just read from Isaiah 53 and 6 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory he saw Jesus glory he spoke of Jesus Jesus is the suffering servant Jesus is the brightness the radiance of the glory of God in the first verses of Isaiah 6 they don't love this glory when they saw a man in chapter 53 kind of man did they see spies without beauty nobody gonna he's ugly no that's no man oh I want a man oh the glory man on a big man or strong man I'm a powerful man so that's not my man and then when the glory of star God stood forth in all of its majesty in chapter 6 they don't love that they love man man is central man praise me man be a great man I follow a great man let going low I'm not going weak I'm not going despised I'm not going to across and you call me with that kind of glory I don't love that. [00:36:36]

The root of unbelief points to the glory of Jesus Christ the root of unbelief points to the glory of Jesus Christ he is the radiance of God's glory Hebrews 1:3 he is meek and lowly so put those together this is our Christ he is the very radiance of the glory of God he is very god of very God we sang tonight begotten not great I hope you feel the weight of the theology behind that everlastingly eternally begotten never created he is our God the radiance of the glory of the Father and he is so meat it's right to sing Christmas carols about how mild meek yes and if you have a love affair with the supremacy and the centrality of man and the supremacy and the centrality of the glory of God is way down here this Christ you will reject can you won't be owing to his inadequacy but to your Kopernik and inversion of having self and man at the center of your solar system and the Sun where Pluto is that's got to change if you're gonna believe it's called new birth god. [00:42:42]

This text text of this message John 12 37 250 and the entire public ministry of Jesus points to the cross where he will die for the world including Israel he was the glory of Isaiah 6 he was the unattractive suffering servant of Isaiah 53 and therefore because of both he was rejected by men and destined therefore for the cross and for the salvation of the world this is what God planned in the unbelief of Israel he was despised and rejected by men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised and we esteemed him not surely he has borne our sorrows and carried our griefs that we esteemed him stricken smitten by God and afflicted but he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace and by His stripes we are healed it was all planned there could be no salvation had he not been rejected it was planned for your piece it was planned for your healing it was planned for your forgiveness through and all-glorious despised and rejected Messiah if you loved the glory of God rather than the glory of man. [00:45:29]