LIFE AT ITS BEST IS FOUND IN JESUS
John 20:30-31
Series: What Do I Need to Know for Life?
Lesson Twelve (John the Apostle)
August 29, 2010
There are people who will always be known for one primary message in their lives. I’ll let you finish the lines!
- Bob Barker (show picture of Bob Barker), the longtime host of the TV game show, “The Price Is Right,” would end each show saying, “Don’t forget to have your pets (spayed or neutered).”
- Frank Sinatra (show picture of Frank Sinatra) crooned away the theme, “I did it (my way).”
- And Mr. Wilson (show drawing of Mr. Wilson), longtime neighbor of Dennis the Menace, never could get past the thought that “the greatest pest in the whole world is (Dennis the Menace)!”
Our hero from Scripture this morning is known best for a theme that ran through his life and ministry too. Our hero this morning is the Apostle John—the last hero I’ll feature as part of our summer sermon series. Next week we’ll launch into a three-month study of the New Testament book of Romans—I hope you’ll take the journey with us! For this Sunday, we’re going to look at the Apostle John.
John was one of the disciples of Jesus, best known perhaps for the Gospel that he wrote—the Gospel of John. John communicated the life and teachings of Jesus in a unique way, and it’s from him that we have received these statements from Jesus (you help me fill in the blanks again)—
- “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have (eternal life).” (John 3:16)
- “I am the bread of (life). He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35)
- “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have (life), and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)
- “I am the resurrection and the (life). He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26)
- “I am the way, and the truth and the (life). No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
So what do you suppose might be one the great concepts of John’s Gospel, a particular word by which we might remember him? (Life!) The term translated “life” in English is found 36 times in John’s Gospel, while no other New Testament book uses it more than 17 times. It’s clear that life is Christ’s gift—
“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.” –Jesus (John 10:28)
In fact, Jesus claimed to embody such life himself—
“I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” –Jesus (John 14:6)
For John, such life was always centered on Jesus! That’s why I’ve summarized his life lesson in these words:
LIFE AT ITS BEST IS FOUND IN JESUS!
John used the word “life” over and over again, bringing new truth and understanding to the reality of what God has provided for each of us through His Son Jesus Christ.
Let’s talk a little bit about John. Do you know what Jesus often called him and his brother? “Sons of Thunder”! We can only guess why Jesus called them that because the Bible doesn’t say. They were actually sons of a man named Zebedee, a Galilean fisherman in Capernaum.
Scholars say that John and his brother James probably earned their nickname because of their bold and impetuous style. When Samaritans refused to welcome Jesus and his entourage into their city, the brothers sounded a bit like they had a hotline to lightning, saying to Jesus, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” (Luke 9:54) Another time John ordered a man exorcising demons in Jesus’ name to stop because he wasn’t one of the twelve disciples. But the boldest request they ever made was one that really ticked off the other disciples! John and his brother James asked if they could sit beside Jesus on His throne! Jesus didn’t pay much attention to what they said in any of these three cases, evidently concluding that the “Sons of Thunder” were just blowing off steam!
And yet…Jesus had a special connection with John and his brother James and their old fishing partner Simon Peter. These three guys were his three amigos, His closest friends, and he invited them to witness events that the other disciples would only hear about: the raising of Jairus’ daughter from the dead, the Transfiguration when Jesus in a holy glow met with Elijah and Moses, and Jesus’ private prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.
In the days of the Early Church, after the Resurrected Jesus had ascended into heaven, John became one of the pillars of the Church. John’s brother James, by the way, became the first of the 12 Disciples martyred for his faith—with all of the others except John eventually becoming martyrs as well for the cause of Christ. According to fairly reliable traditions of the Early Church, John was the only one who lived a long life and died a natural death—though it certainly wasn’t that he didn’t face severe persecution. Besides the Gospel of John, John wrote the three letters of John—1st, 2nd and 3rd John, as well as the last book of the Bible—the book of Revelation. It was written while he was exiled on the island of Patmos near Ephesus.
John’s Gospel, by the way, stands out among the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—which all essentially tell the life and ministry of Jesus. If all four Gospels could pose for a family picture, John would stand out like an adopted child from a very different family! John is that different from Matthew, Mark and Luke. Bible experts call those three “the Synoptic Gospels,” from a Greek word that means “viewing together.” They’re so much alike that it’s easy to compare them side by side.
But John’s Gospel is in a category by itself. John skips the parables of Jesus. And he also only reported seven of the miracles of Jesus, which he called “signs” or evidence that Jesus is God’s divine Son—which is consistent with John’s purpose in writing his Gospel. As we’ll talk more about later, John wrote to prove the deity of Jesus—so that his readers would embrace Jesus as God. Every miracle and story John reports nudges his readers in that direction. He starts his Gospel at the Creation, placing Jesus there. And John includes long discussions Jesus had with people, explaining who He is and why He came to earth.
John sums up his purpose for writing this Gospel in chapter 20. Let me begin at verse 30—
Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31)
You’ll have to forgive me for not centering in on just one passage this week, as I generally do. God’s invitation to all to a great life is a lifelong theme of John’s, and it just kept flowing out of him!—and I wanted you to hear it from several angles!
Maybe it would help if we stopped and considered the word from John’s Gospel that is translated “life” in the English language. The Greek word is “zoe”, from which we get our word for “zoo” or “zoology.” Now don’t make the translation too quick and conclude that “life in Jesus is a zoo!” “Zoe” is used in the New Testament to describe life as a principle—life in the absolute sense, life as God has it and as He has given it to His Incarnated Son Jesus. It’s from this ultimate experience of life that mankind became alienated in the fall of Adam. And it’s to this life that Jesus our Savior has invited each of us to come through Him. He becomes the Author of such life in us. Eternal life is the present possession of the believer because of our relationship with Christ.
Jesus came to give us real life—for us to experience here and now life at its best! I love the words of Jesus found in John 10. Jesus had been teaching, using the analogy of the shepherd and the sheep to communicate His presence and guidance in the life of the believer. He also contrasted the good shepherd with one who merely tried to come in and deceive the sheep and lead them astray and to their own demise. And while I’m pressing toward the 10th verse that in many ways is our key verse today, I want you to catch the context in what Jesus is saying—
[Read John 10:1-15, NIV]
Look again at verse 10—
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)
Repeat that verse with me, would you?…In many ways, when Jesus spoke of the thief coming to steal and kill and destroy, He was referring to some of the people in His crowd at that moment. They had rejected the very One who was sent to be the Savior, and instead were determined to lead the people down the path they had developed.
The truth is that the Church in every age has had to deal with those who try to crawl over the fence to take over the flock, claiming to be the door. Our polite term for it now is “pluralism”—in which the thief has deceived us into believing that life cannot be found in One Savior, but in many—that life at its best is discovered in a melting pot of various philosophies and belief systems and religions and that there cannot be just one way to God. It’s the Gospel according to Oprah Winfrey—and people are buying into it hook, line and sinker! And while that’s the reality in our culture, it’s not the reality of what Jesus taught! Jesus taught that those who propagate such teachings are the very thieves who come into our lives to destroy us.
I’ve been reading a devotional book during this calendar year which is a collection of writings by C.S. Lewis, who is perhaps best known for his Chronicles of Narnia. One of his most unusual books is called Screwtape Letters, in which he tries to give the believer insight to the workings of Satan, the great enemy of our souls. The fictitious letters are from a senior devil who is instructing a younger, less-experienced devil in the art of temptation. If you’ve ever read it, you’d understand that when you’re reading it you almost have to think backwards, because C.S. Lewis has crafted it in such a way that the supposed “author” of these letters presents his arguments as if they are the lofty approach, when, in fact, C.S. Lewis is trying to help us understand the crafty way in which Satan tries to deceive us, thus prompting his devils to undermine the very foundation of faith in a believer in Jesus Christ. I think in many ways C.S. Lewis has given us in his book great insight to the thief Jesus was speaking of in the first part of John 10:10.
Let me come at this another way. Have any of you ever had your home robbed? It happened to Cindy and me twice during our five years in San Jose, California. The first house we lived in probably wasn’t in the best part of town, and the way it was positioned seemed to make it especially vulnerable to thieves.
The first time we were robbed was during the middle of the day. They simply kicked our front door in when we were away—and then quickly rummaged through all our things, taking several things that were valuable to us. I was the first to see the frame of the front door leaning inward with the front door open—and in a moment of stupidity I thought maybe an earthquake had caused it! As I seem to recall, Cindy’s quick conclusion that we’d been robbed came with a tone of voice that said, “You’re an idiot! This is no earthquake! We’ve been robbed!” And she was right…at least about the fact that we’d been robbed!
But suddenly we no longer felt secure in our own home! We second-guessed every noise! There was this strange sense that we’d been violated—that someone who cared absolutely nothing for our well-being had invaded our space and made it his own, to do with as he pleased. The thief didn’t care about us—only himself! He didn’t care how he left us feeling—he was strictly focused on what he wanted. And because we couldn’t trust whoever had invaded our house, it somehow disrupted our sense of security in our own home night and day! And that’s exactly how Satan works in our lives, said Jesus. He’s slick and cunning and cares nothing about our well-being—and he’s happy to destroy us and our families in his quest to get what he wants!
But Jesus was not at all like the thief! Jesus came so that we might have life, and have it in great fullness! With Jesus, there is life abundant. Those who enter by Him “will be saved.” Jesus was most concerned about the well-being of the sheep—which is us! Under His protection and by His guidance we can experience the best life possible! Jesus gives a whole new meaning to living because He provides full satisfaction and perfect guidance.
There are three words that seem to describe this abundant life. The first is “wholeness.” It seems to me that, more and more, people are recognizing their inner longing for wholeness. What do I mean by wholeness? I mean being complete and healthy, having all the necessary components of life working effectively together as one—not in constant conflict with one another prompting the churning of inner turmoil, but at rest and at peace in its wholeness.
The longer I walk with Christ, the more I’ve come to see that His way for life is the only way to experience wholeness. On one hand there’s forgiveness that frees us from the bondage to the sins of our past, but there’s also the call to that which offers meaning and purpose in life and hope for the future. There’s wholeness emotionally and spiritually, as well as mentally and physically as we give ourselves to His purposes in our lives and in the lives of others.
I went through a self-discovery kind of program a few years ago, and, at least in the emotional realm of my life, there were some good benefits. But what seemed to be missing was the bringing together of emotional health and spiritual health—spiritual health that is centered in Jesus Christ. Jesus came to bring wholeness in our lives—and that’s what He wants us to experience!
The abundant life also allows us to live in “liberty.” This isn’t a freedom to do whatever we want to do, but a tremendous sense of freedom in Christ. I honestly never felt that I was raised in a constrictive sense of legalism as some of you may feel you were, but there is indeed great liberty in walking with Jesus Christ—not to do whatever we want to do, but to spread our wings and explore our world and to relate to many different people and to, all the while, know that we are secure in Whose we are. We belong to Jesus! He’s not out to make our lives miserable, but He has given His life so that we might have full liberty in our relationship with Him and thus with other people! It’s the “abundant” way to live our lives! There’s freedom in following Jesus! And honestly, there’s a lot of adventure in such liberty!
Another word that seems to describe this abundant life is the word “satisfaction.” There’s an inner sense of contentment and fulfillment when we are in fellowship with the Creator of the Universe, and allowing Him to work in and through our lives to make a difference in the lives of others around us.
There is aside from Christ a whole world running themselves ragged trying to satisfy themselves. They spend lots of money and many go deeply in debt trying to find it—though it always seems allusive! They’re working themselves crazy to make more and more money—never satisfied with what they have. They try to buy bigger and better, failing to realize that satisfaction is not found in things. But in Christ, there is an inner sense of rest and an assurance that our lives do matter and that God is at work in us and through us.
It’s what followers of Jesus have been experiencing throughout the centuries. Late in the 1800’s, Clara Williams expressed that quest in these words—
All my lifelong I had panted
For a drink from some cool spring
That I hoped would quench the burning
Of the thirst I felt within
Hallelujah! I have found Him—
Whom my soul so long has craved!
Jesus satisfied my longing;
Through His blood I now am saved.
Friend, let me tell you again this morning that life at its best is found in Jesus! And, as Jesus expressed so many times when He spoke about such life, we are forced to come to a decision point: will we fully embrace the life He offers or will we go the way of the popular current and drift away from God and away from the life He’s promised to give us. God’s not going to force us to embrace the life He offers, though He knows beyond doubt that it’s what’s best for us. Life at its best is found in and through Jesus Christ—but each of us must make that choice.
It kind of reminds me of the vision testing that most all of us have gone through—probably many times. We look across the eye doctor’s examining office with a big contraption in front of our eyes and he or she asks us, “Which letter is more clear…this one [show clear slide of letter]…or this one?” [show blurry slide of letter] Often the eye doctor will show it to us again—“the first [show clear slide of letter again]…or the second.” [show blurry slide of letter again] And we must choose which letter is indeed clearer.
So it is that the Lord offers to us life at its best—found in Him—or the way of the world apart from Him. Which life is it that we want to live? The first…or the second? So which have you chosen?—or if you haven’t yet really chosen, which will you choose? May I offer my two cents once again and tell you what I believe so firmly that I have banked my whole life upon it? Life at its best in found in Jesus.
