Do you know what today is? The second Sunday of Easter – Six Sundays of Easter – then the ascension.
Today – two of the recommended Scriptures are 1 John 1-2:2 and John 20:19-31 – Going to tie them together and draw from both –
If you are keeping score – we have the Gospel of John (as in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), we have three letters from John – 1 John, 2 John, 3 John…. and one more writing from John – Drum roll please…
Revelation… 1:1, 1:4, 1:9
We are going to read the Scripture from 1 John here in a minute- This letter written about 90 AD +/- 5 years, and from the earliest of times was attributed to the apostle John, also the author of the Gospel of John and what? Revelation… Through John, 1, 2, 3 John and Revelation – what does John do – takes us from beginning to end…. which as he explains it – has no beginning and has no end…..
And as Andy Stanley likes to do – I want to give you one big idea for today – the main thing for today – and by the end, I hope you get to this one big idea with me by the end of the message today –
Today’s big idea is this: John 20:31 – But these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Read 1 John 1-2:2
Macro vs micro – Micro is the breaking down and looking like a microscope up close at small pieces. the micro was the experience of each day for John – Mac McAnally – “Every day is once in a lifetime”.
But a Macro look at John’s writings are basically our big idea for today – But these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
There must come a point of belief…
John 20:8 – then John saw and believed…. John saw what? An empty tomb….
John believed what? Jesus had come back from the dead. – The resurrection, if you will.
So John’s writings are so that you too, may see and believe.
See what? The testimony of what John saw and what he was told.
Believe what? These things that will give you life…. eternal life as it says in 1 John 1:2
But more than just life after death –
NIBC says that Eternal life to John was the equivalent of Paul’s “In Christ” or “The Kingdom of God has come”…… eternal life begins at salvation…. At the moment we believed…
Let’s look at some things
- Jesus was with God when God said, “Let there be light”
From John 1: In the beginning was the Word…. And the word was with God and the Word was God.
Because John was Jesus’ friend, he spoke with authority in all of his writings: We have seen and report to you… (verse 2 of 1 John)
Also Rev 1:2 – John, who bore witness to the word of God, the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all the things he saw.
John is clear that Jesus was with God from the beginning, which ironically, had no beginning…. This is the first thought that Christians have to believe by faith – God was, and is, and always has been.
Atheists, if I may be so bold as to sum up atheism in a sentence, believe that there has always been something and it has become what we see today just by chance. Might there have been a big bang? Atheists would say there was something and it banged. Christians would say God made the bang.
John says in the Gospel of John 1:3 – God created everything through Jesus, and nothing was created except through him.
John says in Revelation 1:8 – “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
- The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
There was a time when God walked on the earth as one of His creation. Very few credible historians would argue that Jesus was not a real person who lived about 2,000 years ago. What skeptics would argue was that he was a good moral teacher, but was was not God. If Jesus had died on the cross and that had been the end of it, might we still be talking about his teachings today? I doubt it. There were many good moral teachers. There are some today. There are a lot of teachers teaching immoral things today ad well. What set Jesus apart? John said it was that God became a man – coming as we all have into this world. The difference being He came into the world He created. At Christmas we celebrate the birth of God into the world. The Son of God, but also God Himself. Born without sin and lived a life free of sin. He lived the perfect life. - – 1 John 2:2 – Jesus is the propitiation for our sins. Propitiation – Something that propitiates, especially a conciliatory offering to a god.
We have all sinned. However small we try to make our wrongs appear, there is surely none of us who would think we have never done anything wrong. The Bible calls that sin. We have all sinned
1 John 1:8 says if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. Verse 10 says if we say we have no sin, we make God out to be a liar – because God says we have all sinned and fallen short.
– if it helps you to think of these things as mistakes or falling short – go with that –
If we say we’ve never made a mistake or done anything wrong– we are liars who only deceive ourselves.
Humanity was in a predicament – we were created by God, turned from God, and were enemies of God.
Humanity tried (and tries) working their way into His good graces. God says there’s no working your way back.
Humanity tried and tries making sacrifices to God. God says there’s no sacrifice you can offer to bring you back into His good graces.
Romans 5:6 – When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.
John 12:27 – Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? No, it is for this purpose that I have come to this hour.
Jesus dies on the cross for our sins. He was the propitiation for our sins.
REVIEW – BIG IDEA – But these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
- Jesus was with God from the beginning
- The Word became flesh and walked on earth.
- Jesus was the one and only sacrifice to God that can make sinners right with God.
- – Jesus rose from the grave and defeated death.
John 11:25 – Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.
This is the deal breaker – – – or should I say deal maker…..
This was the deal maker for the disciples.
John 20:8 – then John saw and believed…. John saw what? An empty tomb….
Then on the evening of Easter day – that which John believed – that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead, he saw with his own eyes. John 20:19-23 the resurrected Jesus comes into the presence of the disciples.
So John was with Jesus before he was crucified, Saw Him crucified, and saw Jesus after he arose from the dead.
A man will not die for something he knows to be a lie. John knew the truth that Jesus had been resurrected, and he was willing to risk anything rather than to renounce his faith in his Savior. And back to the big idea – But these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Finally for today’s message –
- Jesus is coming again.
John was called up to write Revelation – seeing Jesus in the end of days when He sets all things right.
Jesus came the first time to allow people – all people – – the opportunity to be “made right” with God.
Revelation 1:18-19 – I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this….
Revelation 19:11-16 – Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He [a]had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in [b]fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a [c]sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:
KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.
This is when Jesus will set all things right. Right now, until He comes again – each of us has the opportunity to be made right with God to have life in his name – to move from death to life– on an individual level. John wrote these things that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Is the world still broken? That’s a rhetorical question – of course it is.
All things will not be made right until Jesus’ return. But you can be made right today.
REVIEW – BIG IDEA – But these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
- Jesus was with God from the beginning
- The Word became flesh and walked on earth.
- Jesus was the one and only sacrifice to God that can make sinners right with God.
- – Jesus rose from the grave and defeated death.
- Jesus is coming again.
Do you believe this?
If you do, it has to inform how you live.
Scott Knowlton's Blog 