Transcript

For The World So Hated God

John 5:10-18
Sunday, November 17, 2002
Pastor Randy Smith

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As I mentioned to you last week, John chapter 5 marks the beginning of opposition that Christ faced during His earthly ministry. Sometimes we think of the fierce resistance occurring only during the Passion Week, but a closer examination of the gospel reveals that Jesus Christ continually dealt with persecution throughout His ministry. Often this opposition came from the hands of the Jewish leaders and the unbelieving segment of the Jewish population, but as we will observe shortly, it also came from His disciples and even His own family!

In order to get a proper understanding of this theme, I would like to chronicle these accounts in a brief survey. You will see that this hatred begins in chapter 5 and culminates with the cross.

• John 5:16 - "For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath."
• John 5:18 - "For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God."
• John 6:41 - "Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, 'I am the bread that came down out of heaven.'"
• John 6:59-60 - "These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, "This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?"
• John 6:66 - "As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore."
• John 6:71 - "Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him."
• John 7:1 - "After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him."
• John 7:5 - "For not even His brothers were believing in Him."
• John 7:19 - "Did not Moses give you the Law, and yet none of you carries out the Law? Why do you seek to kill Me?"
• John 7:25 - "So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, "Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill?"
• John 7:30 - "So they were seeking to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come."
• John 7:44 - "Some of them wanted to seize Him, but no one laid hands on Him."
• John 8:37 - "I know that you are Abraham's descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you."
• John 8:48 - "The Jews answered and said to Him, 'Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?'"
• John 8:59 - "Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple."
• John 10:31 - "The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him."
• John 10:33 - "The Jews answered Him, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God."
• John 10:39 - "Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He eluded their grasp."
• John 11:49-50 - "But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish."
• John 11:53 - "So from that day on they planned together to kill Him."
• John 11:57 - "Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him."
• John 13:2 - "During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him."
• John 13:21 - "When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.'"
• John 15:24-25 - "If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, 'they hated me without a cause.'"

Folks, these are only some of the events prior to the Passion Week. If we continued we would read in vivid detail how Jesus was betrayed and falsely accused during His trials in chapter 18. We would painfully read in chapter 19 about scourging and a crown of thorns and ridicule and blows to the face and crucifixion.

It's remarkable! He was One who never sinned. That means He never was unjustly angry with anyone. He never ridiculed anyone. He never spoke negatively behind another's back. On the flip side, He was the One who always loved. That means He always responded with kindness. He always forgave. He always ministered to other's needs. He was the ideal friend! How in the world could this man then provoke such hatred whereby the multitudes demanded His death? Maybe even more questionable is how could this Man fully aware of the outcome of His ministry still choose to come and die for such hateful individuals?

John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son." The title of this morning's message is "For the World so Hated God." Subtitled, "So They Crucified His only Begotten Son." This morning we'll get a glimpse of how Jesus Christ loved the world and yet the world, specifically the healed paralytic and the Pharisees, responded with ingratitude and hatred. After examining the account in John, we'll conclude with some relevant application practical for us today.

Let us begin by way of review. You will recall last week we studied the compassion and power of Jesus Christ, which enabled a lame man to miraculously spring to his feet. The Scriptures said that for 38 long years the man had been ill. Based on his own testimony, His only hope of healing was a magical pool called Bethesda. According to some superstitious tradition, an angel of the Lord would periodically stir the water with the promise that the first to enter the troubled waters would be made well. The man, no doubt suffering from loneliness, hopelessness, rejection and physical pain, anxiously waited by the waters for a dream that would never come true.

Yet on this particular day, his fortune was about to change. Though he wasn't looking for the true solution to his problems, the true solution was looking for him. I pick up the text in verse 6. "When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, 'Do you wish to get well?' The sick man answered Him, 'Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.' Jesus said to him, 'Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.' Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. Now it was the Sabbath on that day" (Jn. 5:6-9).

We would expect this to be a joyous day, a day of celebration! A man who was crippled for 38 years was instantaneously healed! Surely the spiritual leaders would realize this sign authenticated the words of Jesus (Mk. 2:9)! Surely the man would become a devout follower of the Messiah (Jn. 9:36)! Rather to our surprise the opposite occurred.

1. RESPONSE OF THE PARALYTIC

Let's first examine the response of the healed paralytic.

Immediately after being cured, this man received persecution from the Jews in regard to violating the Sabbath. The leaders in verse 10 said to him, "It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet." How is the man to respond? Would he take a stand for the One who made Him well? Would he assume some responsibility for his actions? On the contrary he sought to blame Christ and distance Himself from the Savior. He answered them in verse 11, "He who made me well was the one who said to me, 'Pick up your pallet and walk.'" Instead of being grateful for the marvelous work of God in his life, he actually held Jesus Christ at fault to save his own skin from the ridiculous accusations.

This case of blame shifting reminds me of the classic example in Genesis 3. You will recall that God gave Adam and Eve permission to eat from any tree of the garden (Gen. 2:16), except from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:17). After succumbing to the temptation of the serpent, the couple partook of the fruit and fell under the judgment of God for clear and willful disobedience to His word. God spoke to the shame filled couple now attempting to hide from His presence and said, "Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat" (Gen. 3:11). Adam's lame response, 'The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate'" (Gen. 3:12).

Is human depravity more evident than when the God who gives only good gifts is personally blamed for one's own predicament? Adam, instead of taking responsibility for his own sin, blames God for His good gift of a wife. The healed paralytic, instead of defending the actions of Jesus, blames God for His good gift of physical health. In an effort to jump out of the frying pan, both of these men were quick to jump on God as the source of their problems.

The Jewish leaders were persistent. They definitely wanted someone to blame for violating their legalistic, man-made rules pertaining to the Sabbath. So they asked the healed paralytic in verse 12, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Pick up your pallet and walk.'" Obviously any "man" in their opinion, who would tell one to violate the Sabbath, is far more dangerous than the individual who violates it himself. Yet to our surprise, verse 13 says, "But the man who was healed did not know who it was."

Imagine that! You are just healed from 38 years of paralysis and you don't even get the individual's name! Forget the proper response which is to fall down and worship Him as the Messiah. This man didn't even get enough information to send Jesus a thank-you card! Maybe for the first time in his life, the man had the opportunity to physically follow someone, but he chose to bask in the healing rather than the Healer.

Yet even after this man blamed Jesus for his healing and apparently responded with a lack of gratitude, the Savior still pursued this man with a relentless love. Verse 14 says, "Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, 'Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.'"

When we consider the world's hostility toward God, no other word categorizes such behavior as the word "sin." All sin is ultimately an attack on God and biblically speaking, all human beings are sinners by nature, choice and divine declaration. The root of all of our sin is pride and the root of our pride is a personal desire to exalt the supremacy of self rather than the supremacy of God. Therefore sin always alienates us from God. Jesus knew that, and in His attempt to restore this man spiritually with God He said in verse 14, "do not sin anymore so that nothing worse may befall you." Though we are unaware of this man's specific sin, both the context and the grammar suggest that his sin led to his former paralysis, and also that his continued pattern of practiced unrepentant sin would lead to "something worse" as in eternal judgment.

Briefly allow me to break down each one of these heavy theological components. Generally speaking, all disease and suffering are a result of sin, as a consequence of the fall. Before the fall, pain of any sort was not experienced. However, not all disease and suffering is a direct result of personal sin. A number of verses support this conclusion. For example John 9:1-3 says, "As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?' Jesus answered, 'It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.'" Many religions and even some Christian denominations go the route of Job's friends and claim that all disease and suffering is a consequence of personal sin. According to the Bible, that claim is inaccurate. You will recall that Job suffered not because of his sin, but rather because of his righteousness.

However, on the other hand, some cases of disease and suffering are the result of personal sin. Naturally, we are familiar with the consequences that arise from sins such as excessive alcohol consumption, drug addition, gluttony, premarital intercourse and adultery. But additionally, as it is testified here in our text this morning, God chooses at times to immediately judge and discipline sin through the avenues of disease, suffering and even death. Immediately I recall those in the Corinthian church who were abusing the principles of Communion. Paul said, "For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep" (1 Cor. 11:30). And who can forget Ananias and Sapphira, those two believers who lied to God. Luke says in Acts that both of them were struck dead on the spot (Ac. 5:5, 10)!

Because this man's sin led to his physical problems and would eventually lead to his eternal damnation, Jesus said to him, "Do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse may befall you." You may ask, don't Christians still sin? Of course they do (1 Jn. 1:8, 10), but true believers do not abide in or practice sin (1 Jn. 3:6; 5:18; Gal. 5:21). This is what Jesus was speaking of with the healed paralytic.

We would like to think after this personal encounter with the holiness of God and his own depravity, that the man became a disciple of Christ. But verse 15 says, "The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well." You will recall earlier that the Jews were probing him as to the identity of his Healer. Is it too far fetched to believe that once he discovered the identity of Christ, he immediately betrayed Him to the hostile authorities? The lack of details provided by John does not permit a dogmatic conclusion as to his purpose. Maybe his intent was to give credit where credit was due. Nevertheless, the result of his information definitely caused trouble for Jesus.

2. RESPONSE OF THE JEWISH LEADERS

Let's move to the second point and examine the hostility of the Jewish leaders.

In response to the man's information, verse 16 says, "For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath." John in this section makes it clear that Christ's choice to heal this man on the Sabbath (the word is mentioned 4 times in the span of 10 verses) definitely provoked the Jewish leaders to a point of rage. Why?

According to the Old Testament, it was unlawful to do work on the Sabbath. "But the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you" (Ex. 20:10; c.f. 31:14-15). The assumption from the Scriptures was that "work" referred to one's employment. But as Judaism became more legalistic, the leaders by the time of Christ adopted what they called, the "Tradition of the Elders," which went beyond the boundaries of Scripture. Category number 39 for example, forbade the carrying of a load from one place to another. Another category prohibited healing on the Sabbath in non life and death situations (Mk. 3:2). Therefore Jesus, when He healed the man and then told the man to pick up his bed (pallet) and walk, violated the Sabbath on two accounts according to their interpretation. Verse 16 says, "And for this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath." And this began the relentless campaign to kill Jesus that ended 18 months later at Calvary.

Donald Grey Barnhouse answers the question we are all begging to ask. "Why this desire to destroy the meek and lowly Jesus? Why this murderous attempt to do away with God? The answer is here in the Sabbath question. They wanted rules; they did not want God's grace. They wanted human merit. They did not want the simplicity of divine pardon. They wanted to do something for themselves. They had it all worked out. They could make a show of keeping a day as sacred, while their hearts wallowed in lust and their minds conceived schemes of greed. Their avarice could swell to outrageous proportions, but the Sabbath would be their cloak. Keeping a day would be their mask." Simply put, the Jewish leaders were blinded to God's grace by their strict observance of man-made rules and a works-orientated salvation.

How would Jesus respond? Would He buckle under the pressure? Absolutely not! He addressed their accusations with a bold comment that did anything but simmer down their fierce hostility. To a monotheistic crew, verse 17 records Him as answering, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working." You didn't say these things back then! The comment would be analogous to wearing a seal skin coat to an Green Peace rally or a Redskins jersey to a Giants game!

Our Savior pressed two clear buttons that were guaranteed to ignite a fiery response. First, He claimed an intimate relationship with God. The Jews rarely referred to God as "Father." If they did, it was prefaced by the pronoun "our," never by the pronoun "my." Christ was claiming a unique Father-Son relationship that was unthinkable and blasphemous to the Jewish mind.

Second, and even more offensive, Christ was expressing equality with the Father. An ancient Jewish debate centered on the question of whether or not God violates His own command for Sabbath rest. Genesis 2 says that God rested on the 7^th day, but if He fully observes the Sabbath and refrains from His work, who keeps the universe running? Therefore it was rabbinical consensus that God works on the Sabbath to sustain His acts of providence.

Now if Jesus defends His right to (redemptive) work on the Sabbath (other texts such as Colossians 1:17 better defend His providential work), based upon God's right to work on the Sabbath, He is clearly claiming His deity and equality with His Father!

Though Christ could have argued that the Jewish interpretation of the Law was faulty, He rather defends His actions by claiming that He is above the Law because He is none other than God Himself! This is synonymous to His argument elsewhere regarding the Sabbath when He says, "For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath" (Mt. 12:8). Though the Muslims, Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons and countless other false religious systems miss this claim, it definitely did not go unnoticed by the Jews. They knew exactly who He was claiming to be, God! Verse 18, "For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

In the Old Testament we read, "To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him" (Isa. 40:18)? "To whom then will you liken Me That I would be his equal?" says the Holy One (Isa. 40:25). Just a few chapters later in John's gospel Jesus said, "I and the Father are one" (Jn. 10:30). The following verses, "The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, 'I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?' The Jews answered Him, 'For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God'" (Jn. 10:31-33).

Theologian F. F. Bruce remarked, "For the Jews the line of demarcation between the divine and the human was strictly drawn; it was unthinkable that any one should be comparable to God. It was the fatal desire to be like God that had driven Adam from paradise and precipitated the son of the morning from heaven. Yet here was a man whose words and actions implied a trespass across the inviolable boundary that separated God from mankind. That such a man should be alive and at large constituted a danger to the community which tolerated Him." For this reason the Jews hated Jesus and sought to eliminate Him.

In these 9 verses this morning we witnessed Jesus doing good and speaking the truth. Yet his actions resulted in the ingratitude and betrayal from the healed paralytic and the murderous plots from the Jewish leaders. Such hostility, such hatred toward God!

3. RESPONSE TO THE MESSAGE

Before I close this sermon, I would like to leave you with three points of exhortation in relation to this message.

First, there is no neutrality regarding the Person of Jesus Christ. Based upon His claims, he is either to be rejected as a false teacher and madman, or embraced as the Lord of the universe. C. S. Lewis rightly said, "You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit on Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." In other words, I can embrace George Bush as a great leader and excellent teacher and even a moral figure to emulate, but the moment he says, as Jesus said, "For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins" (Jn. 8:24) or "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me" (Jn. 14:6) or "I and the Father are one" (Jn. 10:31), needless to say, George Bush will have lost my vote. Based upon the claims of Jesus Christ, the only acceptable responses are hostile resentment (as we saw this morning) or unwavering allegiance. There is no middle ground. There are no "fence-sitters." Rightly understanding the claims of Christ does not leave this as an option. He said it Himself, either you are for Him or you are against Him (Lk. 11:23).

Second, if we rightly understand and believe the claims of Christ, we will delightfully fulfill the command to love Him with all of our heart. Though many would restrict that love solely to an emotional element, Jesus defines true love for Him as a willingness to obey His commandments. "If you love Me, (Jesus says) you will keep My commandments" (Jn. 14:15). Now if we obey His commandments we will be like Him, we will be Christlike in our behavior. And when we are Christlike in our behavior, we too will be persecuted just as He was. The world still hates Jesus. Since they can no longer persecute Jesus, they will persecute His followers. In John, Jesus said, "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also" (Jn. 15:18-20). In Matthew He said, "You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved" (Mt. 10:22; c.f. 1 Jn. 3:13).

The answer for this persecution and hatred is very simple. Jesus Christ, the Light of the world (Jn. 8:12), now allows His light to shine through His children (Mt. 5:14). Conflict arises when the light encroaches upon a world in love with the darkness. Jesus said, "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil" (Jn. 3:19).

Therefore we do not seek persecution, but we should not be surprised when it comes. If anything, we should be surprised if we are not receiving persecution, because our persecution (as it was for Christ) is often a litmus test of our godliness in a dark world. Paul said, "Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Tim. 3:12). A.W. Tozer remarked, "To make converts, we are tempted to play down the difficulties and play up the peace of mind and worldly success enjoyed by those who accept Christ. We will never be completely honest with our hearers until we tell them the blunt truth that, as members of a race of moral rebels, they are in a serious jam, and one they will not get out of easily. If they refuse to repent and believe on Christ, they will most surely perish. If they do turn to Him, the same enemies that crucified Him will try to crucify them."

Third, those who decisively desire to love Christ must decisively desire to hate the world. Obviously I am not speaking of the people, but rather the evil systems and ideologies that stand contrary to the word of God. The gospel call is basically a call that pits the hearer to choose allegiance between the world and the lordship of Christ. In his epistle John said, "Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 Jn. 2:15). It's simple. The world hates Christ, and the Christian must hate the world. The true believer cannot add Christ on to his love for the world, because true believers are permanently severed from the world. The Apostle Paul said he was crucified to the world (Gal. 6:14). In His high priestly prayer Jesus said, "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world" (Jn. 17:14). When true believers tamper with the world they are committing spiritual adultery. "You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God" (Jas. 4:4).

We've come full circle. For those in love with the world, the expected biblical response is hatred toward Jesus and His followers. For those in love with Christ, the expected biblical response is hatred toward the world and a devout allegiance to Jesus. In the cosmic conflict that we all face, nobody can have both. We are to love one and hate the other. Based upon the one you obey, who do you love and who do you hate? For the Jesus Himself declared, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other" (Mt. 6:24).