← ArchiveSunday, April 14, 2019DateApril 14, 2019Speaker—TextJohn 12Passages in this sermonJohn 121:40Leviticus 104:36John 1110:06Romans 513:55TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00Well, how are y'all doing this morning? Some of your mornings began at 4.15, as did mine. And praise God for men and women in our weather community that keep us alert. And as I woke up again, about 5 o'clock, just thanking the Lord for His provision, I really believe that we'll get to heaven one day and God is going to look at us and say, Josh, you don't understand, but I was watching over you. I was protecting you. I was strengthening you. Because the weather is the world groaning out for the redemption that only Christ can bring.0:30So today is going to be a little unique. My name is Josh, Pastor Josh Burnham here, the lead pastor. We have our choir that is leading us, and there will be three different teaching segments. If you're new here, we would love for you to fill out a Connect card, this green card in the seat in front of you. As Dan said last week, it's a hassle-free guarantee. We're not going to show up at your doorstep unannounced. I don't want to do that, and you don't want me to do that.0:59So it's a win-win, but we will pray for you. We will encourage you. And every week, someone's making a spiritual decision here. If that's you, you can fill this out in the back, and we will have a conversation with you about Jesus. Maybe it's to renew your faith or to get baptized. We are having several people getting baptized for Easter, and we're excited about that. So we want to help you respond to the gospel, and this is a way that we do that. If you have your Bibles with you right now, please turn to John, the book of John.1:26We looked at Lazarus last week, the unbelievable story of God's rescue in our life, that he has raised us to new life and abundant life in Jesus Christ. And today we're going to look at John 12-ish. That's not a technical term, but you'll understand why I use that. The unbelievable story of the holiness of God.1:54The song that we just sang, holy, you alone are holy, matchless in all of your glory. When was the last time you really reflected on the holiness of God? That you stopped and said, God, you are completely set apart. And I want to reflect on that. I want to pause my busy life and think about who you truly are. Because reality is that there's nothing else in Scripture that God is called thrice this.2:23He's not called love, love, love, or joy, joy, joy, or kindness, kindness, kindness, or good, good, good. But God is called holy, holy, holy. And I believe there's at least one lady in Scripture that deeply reflected upon the holiness of God. And her name is Mary. And we find her story here again in John 12, verses 1 through 3.2:50The word reads this way. Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, comma, right? If you were here last week, oh, by the way, the one Jesus had raised from the dead. And over and over again in this next passage, you will have a reference to Lazarus.3:15Who was Lazarus? He was dead, not asleep, not as sick, and Jesus raised him from the dead. In verse 2, so they gave a dinner for him there. Martha was serving, and guess who else was there? Lazarus was reclining at the table with them. And I would imagine the last time Lazarus was laying down, he was dead in the tomb. And Jesus said, come forth.3:45Then Mary took a pound of perfume, pure and expensive nard, anointed Jesus' feet, and wiped his feet with her hair. So the house was filled with the fragrance of perfume. What would cause a person to pour out $20,000 of perfume or cologne on someone's feet? The holiness of God.4:14Mary realized that Jesus was not like anyone else. He was set apart. He was separate. In the Old Testament, only two people were anointed. Only two groups of people. One was the priest. And in Leviticus, the anointing of God was such a special and holy proposition that God told the priest in Leviticus 10, verse 7, when the anointing oil is on you, do not leave the tabernacle or you will die. That's how powerful the separation and special anointing of God was upon the life of the priest.4:45But there's a second group that is anointed, especially in the Old Testament. They have a different status. They have a lead status in Israel. And they were the kings. That they were anointed by the priest for a special purpose, to lead the people of God. We see Saul anointed and David was anointed. And so in this, we have Jesus, again, who is our perfect high priest and also is the perfect king.5:14He is the king of kings. He is the Lord of lords. He is the one that we have longed for. And whether she knew it or not, Mary is making a bold declaration that Jesus is everything that we need. He is the one who is set apart. The word anointed was the word messiach. Literally means to be anointed.5:42Now, you might not know that word, but you might know the New Testament equivalent of that. Messiah. So literally, to say Jesus is Messiah, to say that he is the one that is anointed. He is the one that is set apart. Set apart by who? By God. For what? For the redemption of the sons of disobedience. Those who were slaves to their sin can now have newness in God.6:07So what is the holiness of God then? If Jesus is set apart for a specific reason, then what is the holiness of God? We have two important aspects that we see in the word about God's holiness. First is his utter separation from the things which are profane, which are sinful. God is radically separated from sin.6:35That is a major issue for us then, for you and for me. Because despite what everyone would tell you, you're not good. You're not. And you'll never be good. So quit trying. Some of you are thinking, man, hallelujah. Because religion will teach this moralistic, therapeutic behavioralism, teaches us to be good. And God says you can't be good. And because we are sinful, we cannot be in the presence of God.7:02Because the holiness of God says that God is utterly and radically separate from anything that is dark. From you and from me. But the second part of holiness is equally vital. It is that God is consumed with his glory and his honor. That God will not do anything that does not glorify himself. That's why he's God. That's why Jesus prays in the garden, Lord, glorify me that I may glorify you.7:31Because Jesus is God. This is the perfection and the beauty of his holiness. So when Mary anoints Jesus, what is she saying? She's saying, Jesus, you are holy. You are set apart. And whether she knew it or not, we find out in Scripture that she anoints Jesus not to be a triumphant king.7:53But she's anointing him for his death. She's anointing him with fragrant oil that will one day fill the tomb. Because she's separating Jesus for the death on the cross. A death for you and for me. A death that will one day bring us life. And I was counseling some young people today and I was telling them about the gospel.8:21And I said, Jesus lived a perfect life. Do you believe that? They said, yes, we believe that. That Jesus rose from the dead for our sins. Do you believe that? They said, yes, we believe that. And I said, are you sure? Because we never, you've never seen anyone that has lived a sinless life. And we just said, well, we believe this, but you've never experienced it. And we said, well, Jesus rose from the dead. Well, do you really believe that?8:51Because you've never seen it. That's why it's faith. That's the power of Christ. That's the holiness of our one Savior. So how do we respond to the holiness of God? Look what Mary does. In verse 3, she takes a pound, about 12 ounces of perfume. Pure and expensive. And she anoints the what? She anoints the feet of Jesus.9:20What a humble, self-loathing position. The only one that would wash someone's feet was a slave. And she went further. She washed his feet with her hair. To say what?9:48To say very clearly, Jesus, you're worthy. And I'm not. Let's pray. If you have your scriptures still out. This is why I told you John 12-ish. If you turn to John 11. And we're reminded in this passage, walking to the cross and ultimately to Easter, that Christianity is a peculiar religion, it's truly people who are dead walking around again.10:15So very simply, if the world's not looking at you funny, you might not be living for Christ. Because we see in Lazarus' life and everything in these two passages in John 12 and 11 are focused on this man who was dead and now not dead.10:35And he's walking around and people who are seeing that have an issue. Those who don't believe in Jesus want Jesus dead. But here's the problem they have now. They also need Lazarus dead. Because Lazarus' life is a witness to the power of God. And oh, that I would one day, the world would look at me and say, man, we're going to have to kill Josh.11:05Because he's witnessing to the power of Christ. Because he was dead. The old man, we don't know the old Josh. We know that he was radically different. That Jesus called him forth out of the tomb. As we just sing, the things that burdened us, we lay them down. And yet the high priest has an idea in John 11. And he says this beginning in verse 47.11:35So the chief priest and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin. And they were saying, what are we going to do? Since this man, Jesus, is doing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him. And the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.12:03One of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, you know nothing at all. You are not considering that it is to your advantage that one man should die for the people. Rather than the whole nation perish. He did not say this on his own. But being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation.12:29And not for the nation alone, but also to unite the scattered children of God. So from that day on, they plotted to kill him. Immediately following the anointing and the raising of Lazarus, we find this seedy plot by the religious leaders to exterminate the threats.12:50And the threat is Jesus. And the reality in your life and mine that Jesus is still a threat. He's a threat to our kingdom because he is the true king. And embedded in this narrative, we find a short summary of the gospel. Whether Caiaphas knew it or not, he boldly declares the good news in verse 50.13:19It is to your advantage, church, that one man would die for all people rather than a whole nation perish. And little did he know that that one man would die. And that perfect sacrifice would give life to everyone who believes. You see, Romans picks up on this also. And Romans unfolds in more detailed fashion the beauty of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus.13:49Listen to Romans chapter 5. Talking about the Messiah. So then, just as through one trespass, there is condemnation for everyone. Hey, that's us. That through the sin of the first man, Adam, that sin entered the world. And he's given us that predisposition of sin. But it's not Adam's fault that you sin. It's yours.14:19It's yours. And through this, we are under condemnation. So also, through one righteous act, there is justification leading to life for everyone. Who's in everyone? Me. You. So that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus our Lord. So we simply say, yes, Caiaphas.14:50That's true. Through one man, he would restore a nation. Bethel, wake up. I know you're up at 4 o'clock this morning, some of you. But through one man's death, yes, you can have life. Well, wake up. That through everyone who is under condemnation, that's me. Everyone who finds that Jesus is truly the Messiah can have everlasting life.15:16That's me, if you believe. This is the gospel. And how can this ever be true? Because Jesus is the perfect sacrifice. He lived a sinless life. And if you're honest, you're probably struggling to believe that. Because you don't know anyone that's perfect. And if you think that's you, go look in the mirror when you get home.15:47And you'll find that that's not true. We're not perfect. So oftentimes we struggle to believe that one man could be perfect because we've never seen it happen. But it did happen. And Caiaphas was right. It is to our advantage that the perfect sacrifice would die on the cross for our sins. And that three days later, he would not stay in that grave, but that he would rise again.16:12And that not a bone in his body was broken on the cross. Because he was the perfect lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And so I simply ask you right now this question. If you've ever been to church before, you've probably had this asked. Are you right now in this moment right with God? If you died right now, would you be right with God?16:41I've often struggled with that question. Because that's not something that I can answer. How can I tell God that I am right with him? How can you look at God and say, God, I'm right? The right question is this, God, am I right with you? Because if we're honest, as that video has showed us, most of us one day are going to present God our resume and say, God, here it is.17:11And the only hope that we have is the last man who kept his resume. And they said, well, aren't you going to give me yours? He said, I don't have anything to offer. But I'm with him. The perfect sacrifice.17:40The man who Caiaphas prophesied that one day it is to our advantage that this man would die for a whole nation. To restore the scattered children of Israel. To restore those who were broken in their sin. So that one day, not only would death reign, but that for those who have faith in Jesus, the perfect sacrifice, grace will reign in our lives.18:00Have you put your hope and your trust in Jesus? He's the perfect sacrifice. And who am I to tell God if I am right with him or not? A sinner. A chief of sinners like me. And like you. But what I can stand upon is the promises of scripture that says, whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.18:29That I can say, God, upon the basis that your son lived a sinless life, that he was a perfect sacrifice. God, I am with him. And that I believe that he has forgiven me of my sin. And that he has offered me righteous. That I do not belong, but he has given it. He has imputed it to me.18:59And upon the basis of Jesus Christ, I stand here on the perfect sacrifice. Church, behold the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. Father, we thank you. And what a great job with our Redemptive Arts team leading us in worship this morning. So let's give them a hand for the job that they've done this morning. We appreciate it. My feet are on the rock. If you have the word still open, if you would turn to John 12, 12.19:28John 12, 12. We've seen that Jesus is holy. We've seen that he is our perfect sacrifice, our perfect offering on behalf of those who are anything but perfect. And now I want us to firmly cement our feet upon the rock and know that we can have assurance in Christ that he is our king. He is our redeemer. And millions of people around the world today are celebrating with us the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ.19:58Think about that. Right now, as we worship, there are millions of brothers and sisters in Christ all around the world rejoicing in different languages that Jesus is the rightful king. So as we read this scripture, let's do so with the remembrance that we're not alone, that there is triumph in the cross.20:23There is triumph in Jesus. So verse 12, John 12, the next day, when the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took palm branches and went out to meet him. And they kept shouting. Now, Baptist people, let me say this. Just this is not in the sermon. This is free. Gratis, as they say.20:52Right. Last week, we saw that Jesus, with a shout, brought Lazarus forth out of the grave. This week, we see the people of God, people who desire Jesus as king, with a shout, making their way. Let me just. It's OK to shout in the presence of God. Right. It's OK to do that. Actually, I would say it's probably not OK not to shout at some times if Christ has redeemed you. So anyway, let's keep moving.21:21And they said this. Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel. Jesus found a young donkey and he sat upon it, just as it was written. Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king is coming. Sitting on a donkey's colt. And his disciples did not understand these things at first.21:49However, when Jesus was glorified, they remembered these things that hadn't been written about him. And that they had done these things to him. And meanwhile, here we go again. This man that keeps cropping up in the narrative. Meanwhile, the crowd, which had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb. Are you sensing the theme that Christianity is the religion of dead people come back to life?22:12Everywhere you look, Lazarus is there. Something happened about Lazarus that the world was saying, this is peculiar. Man, only Jesus, only the power of God can make this man rise up. He's like, where's Waldo? He keeps appearing on every single page. And they raised him from the dead, continue to testify.22:40This is also why the crowd met him, because they heard he had done this sign. Then the Pharisees said to one another, you see, you've accomplished nothing. Look, the whole world has gone after him. The whole world has gone after him. This is Willow Sunday, Flower Sunday, Passion Week, or Palm Sunday.23:03This is a Sunday that the church rejoices. Our King is coming. Hosanna, blessed is he. And they throw palm branches. There are many reasons for that. There's a scripture in the Old Testament where they would throw palm branches before the king. That would come in. But the ancient Greeks would also give palm fronds to the victor of any race.23:31As if to say, this is the true victorious one. I don't know what they would give to second place. But they would give this to the victor. What was the world saying about Christ? That he is the victorious one. He is the one that we've been waiting for. He's the one that you want to be on his team. Because he's the winner. I don't want to be on the other team. I want to be on team Jesus.24:02Because he gives us victory over everything that we need in life. And what is that victory? Truly, the word victory means the end of conflict or competition. It's the end of the game. It's the end of the race. It's the end of battle. It's the one who waves the white flag and says, I give up. You're victorious. And if you know Jesus, things change. Things radically change in our life.24:32And so what are some of the victories that Jesus brings us when we trust in him as our personal Lord and Savior? One, it gives us victory over self. Jesus gives you victory over you. Now that stands in contradiction to a world that says, you live your best life now. You do you. And Jesus says, you don't do you. Because you only leads to destruction. You only leads to hurt and devastation.25:01But Jesus says, I will save you from you. I will redeem you from you because you're broken. You don't have to spend much time with me to realize I'm broken. That my mind doesn't work like God has designed it. And my heart doesn't work like God has designed it. And that we hurt one another in broken relationships. And Jesus says, if you trust me, you will find true peace in your life. I'll never forget the day that I gave my life to Jesus.25:28That was the first day I could finally sit back and say, Jesus, everything is answered that I need answered. It's the first day in my life that I truly had peace with myself. And I said, I don't have to try anymore. I don't have to strive to make my something that I think I need to be. I don't have to struggle for identity. God, everything that I need is in Jesus. Because he's given me victory over Josh.25:58Praise God for the victory. Jesus entering into your life also gives us victory over sin. This victory, this shout of Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, reminds us that we no longer have to be slaves to sin. That yes, in Christ, after Christ, sin might still remain in your life. But because of Christ, sin does not reign. Sin doesn't have the palm branch.26:28Sin is not the victor. Jesus is the victor. So when we sin and the Holy Spirit reminds us and brings conviction, we can wave the palm branch to sin and say, sin, I want you to know that you've already been defeated. And I've been forgiven. And that Jesus gives me hope. Because the king has come. Praise God for that victory. He also gives us victory over death. Now here's the dichotomy, the strange irony of this text.26:57Jesus is triumphantly going into Jerusalem. And if people are saying, he is our king, he is our king, and less than seven days later, what are they going to say? Crucify him. Crucify him. And the shouts that led to the death of Christ, it's that same death that leads us to shouts of victory over death. You see, it's the death of Jesus that gives you victory over death in your life.27:25It's the same victory that my little four-year-old, hearing that someone passed away last week in this church, she started shouting, yay, they're dead, they're dead. And I said, she gets it. She gets it that Jesus, we don't stay dead, that in Christ we pass through death, through judgment, into abundant life. Into forever life. Oh, that God would give us four-year-old faith. Augustine said it this way.27:56The branches of palm trees are laudatory emblems, significant of victory, because the Lord was about to overcome death by dying. And by the trophy of his cross to the triumph of the devil, the prince of death. You see, Satan is the prince of death. And Jesus is the prince of peace. I don't know where you want to be, but I know whose side I want to be. I want the peace of Christ rather than the stench of the world.28:24That's the victory in the hope that we have again. And in case you've missed it, I've tried to point it out to you that over and over and over again, we have this guy that keeps popping up in the narrative. His name is Lazarus. He's the same guy that Martha looked at Jesus and said, Jesus, I know you can raise him from the dead, but he stinks. He's been dead four days. He's not only dead, he's stinky dead.28:54He's really dead. And the same man that, why would God's word remind us that he was reclining at the table? And why would the word of God remind us that he was here again at the festival? Why would the Bible remind us that he was at the anointing? Because the Bible says that Jesus gives us victory over death. Praise be to God to that victory.29:23And like many of us, the disciples didn't get it. You know the word of the Lord is honest because they remind you that the disciples didn't get it. In verse 16, they did not understand these things. But after the crucifixion, they remembered. You see, this is an unbelievable story. And I am foolish enough to believe it.29:51I'm foolish enough to believe that God loved me so much that he would send the perfect sacrifice for me. That when I was in my sin, and what is sin? Sin is us looking at God and saying, God, I hate you. God, I know you've created me to be in a relationship, but God, I don't want that. I want my desires. I want my path. I want myself.30:21God, I hate your ways. And God looked at me and said, Josh, even when you hated me, I loved you. And I sent my son to die for you. And that if you would have the faith to believe that he will victoriously come into your life and give you abundance and life eternal. That he will forgive you of your sins. I don't know what sins you committed.30:49I know the ones I've committed. And I know that the sins I've committed, to be fair, God should have never forgiven me. And yet he did because he loves us. And he gave me righteousness. And he will do the same for you. If you've never believed the story of redemption, it's true. How a holy God would send a perfect sacrifice to bring victorious living through the grave if you would hope and trust in him today.31:16So I'll ask you that question again. Are you right with God? That's only a question that God can answer. But he sent his son that you would not live in condemnation, but that you would have life and life eternal. If you've never trusted in Jesus Christ today, I believe you're here right now because God wanted you to hear the story of the good news.31:46If you're here and you are a Christ follower, sung by our choir, proclaimed through word, proclaimed through his scriptures, that you might believe. That you would have hope and you would have everlasting life. And if that's you for the first time, my prayer is that you would confess your sins. That you would take ownership of that and you would say, Jesus, they're yours. I believe. And if you for the first time believe, he will restore you to new life.32:15If you're here and you are a Christ follower, how is God calling you to respond to the good news today? Maybe you just need to come forward and pray for someone next week that needs to hear the good news. Pray for those that are going to come on Easter. Maybe pray for a soccer team or pray for a class you teach or pray for your neighbors and say, God, they're not here today, but I'm going to pray on their behalf. I'm going to intercede because they need you and you died for them. And God, I want them to have the same hope that I have.32:46I want them to know that the Messiah who could call Lazarus from the grave can look into their dark heart and call them out of the grave. Will you stand in the gap for them? Maybe your response is you need to stand up and while we sing in Christ alone, you just need to stand up and you need to say, Hosanna! It's okay to shout in church. Blessed be the name of God. Blessed be the name of the one who comes.33:15He is the Messiah. His name is Jesus. Church, let's pray. Father,More sermons on John →
