I'd like to invite your attention
this morning to the 20th chapter of John, the gospel of John,
John chapter 20. We'll be looking at verse 31. Let me begin this morning by
saying that the public life of the Lord Jesus was brief. Few
believe it to have exceeded three and a half years. I look back
and just think about Teresa and I being back here from Texas
for almost seven years now. It's just amazing how time goes
by so quickly. The Lord's public ministry, three
and a half years. Yet in those brief years, the
Lord did so many things that John tells us in chapter 21.
You may not have to turn the page to even see it, but look
at it, it's close. He said in verse 24 of chapter
21, he said, this is the disciple which testified of these things
and wrote these things. And we know that his testimony
is true. He's speaking of himself and
he says, and there are also many other things which Christ did,
the witch, if they should be written every one, I suppose
that even the world itself could not contain the books that should
be written. Now in our text here, John has
come to the end of his gospel account. And back here in chapter
20, verse 31, he writes, but these are written, these what? What things is John speaking
of here? Well, look back at verse 30.
It says, and many other signs, that means acts, miracles, and
wonders, truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which
are not written in this book, but these, these signs, these
acts, these miracles, and these wonders are written. For what
reason, for what purpose were they written? He said that ye
might believe. Now believe what? That Jesus
was a good man, that Jesus was a gifted teacher and preacher,
that he was a strong Jewish leader, that he was a Christian reformer? No, that you and I might believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God. And that believing
you might have life through his name. Did you notice that little
word, the? It's called a definite article
in the English language. It's used twice in verse 31.
John said, these things were written that you might believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. You see, there's
only one Jesus who is the Christ. There's only one Jesus who is
the Son of God. You know, the name Jesus in the
Hebrew language is called Yeshua or Joshua. And it was a common
name in first century Galilee. The name appears 30 or more times
in the Old Testament in reference to four separate individuals. And I read this, I suppose that
it's true. It said that archeologists have
unearthed the tombs of over 71 Yeshua's from the period and
timeframe of Christ's death. But this Jesus of whom John writes
is the Christ, not a Christ, but the Christ. You see, there's
only one. Paul said that there's only one
mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus. That's
who this is talking about. He's the Christ. Christ is not
just a part of his name, friends. The word Christ is even more
than a title. It means the anointed one. It means the one who anoints.
That's important. Important, critical to understand.
This Jesus that John refers to is the Son of God, not just a
Son of God, but the only Son of God. He's the only begotten. He's the only born Son of God. Now to all others who have received
and believed and submitted to the Lord Jesus Christ, God the
Father gave the power to become the sons of God, but Jesus Christ
is the only born or begotten Son of God. He is the only anointed
one of God. John tells us very plainly that
all the signs, all the acts, all the wonders, the miracles
that our Lord did was that chosen sinners might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God. But that's not all, read on. And that believing you might
have life through his name. Are you interested in life eternal? Well, it says very plainly and
clearly here where that life is to be found. It's to be found
in the Christ, the Son of God. People talk today about being
saved. Many claim that they are saved,
yet few have any clue to what they're saved from. That's sad,
but true, isn't it? Matthew told us very clearly
what Christ saved his people from. The angel appeared and
said, thou shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his
people from their sin. That's what we need to be saved
from, from our sin. In order to be saved from your
sin, you're gonna have to first see that you're a sinner. This
is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And Paul said,
of whom I am chief. Now listen, if Paul takes that
title unto himself, what about me? A sinner is a sacred thing. The Holy Ghost had made him so.
New life from Christ we must receive before our sin we rightly
grieve. Why is a sinner a sacred thing?
Because they're hard to come by. They're hard to find. Only God can reveal. Only God
can cause. Only God can enable a sinner
to believe that Jesus is the Christ. We say that all the time,
but I'm telling you, as you go along this gospel road, you're
going to see that more clearly. God's got to reveal it to you.
Only God could give that gift of grace through faith that gives
life through His name. Now, this week, I've thought
so much about this. There was such glorious instruction
in all that the Lord did. All of His actions were significant. You know, nothing about our Lord
Jesus Christ was trivial. Nothing. Not only did the Lord
Jesus preach orally and verbally, but every single act that he
performed was a message of mercy and grace and truth. Everything
that he did showed God's mercy and grace. And we see from our
text that the design and the purpose of all scripture is to
produce faith in Christ. and to produce it in the chosen
sinner's heart. No text in this Bible was intended
to create doubt. Absolutely no part of Holy Scripture
was written with any intention to magnify the writer or to magnify
men and women who read this word in any way. And what a lesson
that should be to all who write and speak for God. How clearly
we see this in John's gospel account. Did you know that in
the gospel account of John, the apostle John does not mention
his own name one time? Not one. He simply refers to
himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. Not to think that
he was more special than the rest of the apostles and the
disciples. He just couldn't get over the
fact that God loved him. You know what? I can't get over
the fact that God loves me. I live with me. I know what I
am. John didn't speak or mention
anything that he did for Christ. He simply referred to himself
as the disciple that leaned upon the chest of the Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ. John rested and trusted in Christ
alone. Do you remember when the Lord
was transfigured on the mountaintop? He took with him three of his
disciples, John being one of them, John, James, and Peter. But John does not mention that
amazing event at all in his gospel narrative. The other three gospels
do, but not John. except to say, we beheld his
glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full
of grace and truth." That's the only reference he made too. And
John was also one of the three disciples that Christ took into
the garden of Gethsemane with him to pray with him. And even
they fell asleep. Did you know that again, John
says nothing about that in this book that bears his name? He
didn't say anything about being one of those three. And John's
omission of these occurrences was for the purpose of not bringing
attention to himself. I heard years ago that the pulpit
was given for the preacher to hide behind. And we ought to
hide behind it. We've got to get ourselves out
of the way when we're preaching and point men and women to Christ.
Not easy to do. Because we're in this body of
flesh and we think just way too highly of ourselves. The one
intent of Scripture is that you might believe on Jesus Christ. That's what I'm trying to hammer
home to you this morning. All the miracles that Christ
did was recorded so that chosen sinners might believe and that
in believing they might have life through Christ's name. Our
Lord healed the blind and He did so to show us that we can't
see. We're spiritually blind. He's
got to give us sight. Christ healed the deaf because
by nature we cannot hear His gospel. He must give us ears
to hear. Have you ever thought about how
you sit under the gospel for some time, and you didn't hear
anything, and then all of a sudden, you're like, that light bulb
goes on. You heard because God enabled
you to hear. God gave you ears to hear. Our
master healed the lame and the impotent because we can't come
to Christ that we might have life. Like Mephibosheth, we're
lame on both of our feet, and it was from a great fall. Christ
healed lepers because you and I are completely leprous in sin. Christ made whole the withered
hand because you and I can't work the work of God with our
hands. Christ calmed the storm by saying, peace be still, because
we're tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine and we need
peace in our stormy lives. Our Lord fed the multitude with
five loaves and two fish because we can't feed ourselves. And
we're hungry and we thirst for righteousness. And the only way
we get it is if God gives it to us. If Christ feeds us with
the bread from heaven, which is He Himself, and gives us a
drink from that rock, which was Christ, which flowed rivers of
living water. The Lord Jesus healed that woman
with the issue of blood. You want to know why? To show
us that we have an issue of blood that was inherited from our father
Adam. Our Lord cast out devils because
you and I are possessed with sin and enmity toward God and
it's without a cause. Christ raised the dead. I bet
you can figure out why. Because we're dead in trespasses
and sin. Everything Christ did was so
that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ. the Son of God,
and that believing that we might have life, and that life through
His name. And that is why we have four
gospels. The four writers, Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John, each present the Lord Jesus with a different
emphasis to give us the full picture of His character. Matthew
represents Christ as the King of the Jews. He speaks of Christ's
heavenly kingdom and he paints Christ as the King of kings and
the Lord of lords. Mark presents the Lord Jesus
as the servant of God and the servant of God's people. He made
himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant
made in the likeness of man, Philippians 2.7. Christ himself
said, for even the son of man came not to be ministered unto,
but to minister, to serve and to give his life a ransom for
many. I'll throw this in for free,
for many, not all, not the whole world. his people in the world,
Mark 10 45. And Luke presents the Lord Jesus
Christ as the son of man. He tells us how God became a
man to do for fallen men and women what they could never do
for themselves. But when you get to John, When
you get to this beloved disciple's account of the gospel, John is
all about showing Christ to be the Son of God and God the Son. From the opening sentence of
his gospel narrative, he does so. Now, if you'd like, you can
turn with me to John chapter one, but I want to begin in verse
one to read these verses to you. And knowing that Christ is the
word of God, knowing that I'm going to substitute the word
word along with the words he and him with the word Christ
and reading this to you in the text, the word of word begins
with a capital letter. That's proof right there that
this speaks of the Lord Jesus. So listen closely as I read these
verses this way. In the beginning was the Word.
There it is, capital W. In the beginning was Christ.
And Christ was with God and Christ was God. The same was in the
beginning with God. All things were made by Christ. and without Christ was not anything
made that was made." John is telling us here from the very
start of his gospel narrative that Jesus is the Christ. that He is the Son of God and
God the Son. Look down at verse 10 of John
1. We see that Christ made the world. And verse 12 tells us,
but as many as received Christ, to them He gave power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. This
has to do with believing. This has to do with faith in
Him. In verse 14, John said, and Christ, the anointed one,
that's who that is, was made flesh and dwelt among us. And
we beheld his glory. The glory is of the only begotten
of the father, full of grace and truth. And then in verse
16, John declares, and of Christ's fullness have all we received
and grace for grace. And Paul concurs the same thing
when he wrote, for in him, speaking of Jesus Christ, God the Son,
dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, or in a body. We talked in great detail this
morning in the first hour about Christ and God the Father being
one. The Lord Jesus said, if you've
seen me, you've seen the Father. Verse 17, John says, for the
law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. So we clearly see that the Word
was with God, the Word was God. Jesus Christ was with God, Jesus
Christ was God. Now we had agreement on that,
right? God has come to earth as the man Christ Jesus. And
when you put these two things together, you see that the divine
one, God the Son became a man. And it's then that you'll truly
see and have some understanding of why he's called Emmanuel,
which is interpreted God with us. Friends, God is with us. Every true child of God will
proclaim what Thomas did, my Lord and my God. One in the same. When the Lord Jesus asked his
disciples, whom do you say that I am? Peter said, thou art the
Christ, the son of the living God. And the Lord said, you're
a blessed man, Simon. The Lord has blessed you because
flesh and blood didn't reveal that to you. But my Father, which
is in heaven. You see, this has got to be revealed.
You'll never see this blessed truth apart from divine revelation
and divine intervention. We all know what intervention
is, but we need a divine intervention, or we'll never see. In Acts chapter
two, verse 36, Peter said, God had made this same Jesus whom
you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Who is this Christ that
they're talking about? Well, he's that prophet that
Moses said God would raise up among his brethren. He's that
priest like unto Melchizedek. He's that king who's the son
of David. He's prophet, priest, and king.
Did you notice the last part of our text back in John chapter
20, the end of verse 31, John says, that believing you might
have life through his name. Peter, fool of the Holy Ghost,
stood on that day and he said, neither is there salvation in
any other for there is none other name under heaven given among
men whereby we must be saved. Acts 4.12. There's something
about that name. I love that song, by the way.
There's something about that name. And there is. Wherefore
God hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above
every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow
of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the
earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord to the glory of God the Father." That preaches itself,
doesn't it? At his name, sickness left. At
his name, demons and devils fled. Sin is forgiven for His name's
sake, the scripture says. Beloved God, for Christ's sake,
has forgiven you. Moses stood on that mountain
and God spoke out of that burning bush. And he said, put off thy
shoes. The place where you stand is holy ground. And the Lord
went on to say this. He said, I am the God of thy
father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. And Moses hit his face for he
was afraid to look upon God. And then the Lord said, I am
that I am. And he said, this shalt thou
say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you. And
that's what Moses said to Pharaoh. He said, I am have sent me. And
Pharaoh said, I don't know your God and I ain't letting your
people go. Well, let me tell you something. It didn't take
long for Pharaoh to find out who the great I am was. As the
servant and messenger of God, I can say the same thing to you
here this morning. And I say it with great humility.
I am that I am has sent me unto you. This is his message. This is his word to you, not
mine. My word don't mean anything. I'm just a sinner, nothing at
all. Jesus Christ is my all in it all. And like Moses, the servant
of God is nothing. I'm just the messenger. I'm just
the reporter, but I'm reporting good news. The word comes from
God, the great I am. And it's that you might have
life. and that you might have it through
his name. How clearly we see that when we look closer at his
name. In Genesis chapter 22, our Lord's
name by whom we have life is called Jehovah Jireh. The Lord
will provide. The Lord will provide. Have we
figured that out yet? The Lord will provide for us
and the Lord will provide for his father, a lamb, and for us. He is that lamb slain from the
foundation of the world. In Exodus chapter 15, verse 26,
the Lord's name by whom we are saved is called Jehovah-Rapha,
for he's the Lord that healeth thee. There's something in that.
Men today come to this modern day Jesus seeking healing for
anything and everything, everything from a headache to a hangnail.
But this other Jesus can heal no one. But Jehovah Rapha, oh,
he can heal the diseases of our heart and the leprosy of our
souls. It's by his stripes that we're
healed. He provides the kind of healing that we need to never
ever die. Men and women today put too much
emphasis on the body and have little concern for the soul.
I was telling my dear friend Paul Mahan this week that it
was either his dad or our brother Scott that said one time in a
message that we spend way too much time and way too much effort
trying to live on the wrong side of life. We try to live on the
physical side of life, not on the eternal side of it. Friends,
for the believing child of God, to die is gain. To be absent
from the body is to be present with the Lord. In Exodus chapter
17, verse 15, our Lord in whom we have life is called Jehovah
Nisi, the Lord, our banner. The battle is the Lord's, it's
not ours. He's on the throne and he's working
all things together for our good and for his glory. The victory's
the Lord's, not ours. The captain of our salvation,
He's in command and He's in control. In Judges chapter 6 verse 24,
the Lord's name by which we have life is called Jehovah Shalom,
the Lord our peace. Oh, there's something about that
name. He provides that peace for us. The scripture says that
passes all understanding. We can't understand it. It's
so glorious. that we can't even fathom it.
We can't understand the peace that Christ gives. It's a peace
that keeps our hearts and our minds through Him. Dear sinner,
these things are written that you might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you might
have life through His name. In Psalm 23, Christ is Jehovah-Rab. The Lord, our shepherd, and we
shall not want. Those that seek the Lord shall
not want any good thing. Psalm 30, 14. Are you seeking
the Lord? Christ is the good shepherd that
giveth his life for the sheep. He has other sheep. Maybe one
of you here this morning. Them he must bring. He's the Lord, our shepherd.
In Jeremiah chapter 23, the Lord's name by whom we are saved is
called Jehovah to Sid Canu, the Lord our righteousness. Oh, there's
something about that name. What a blessed truth that the
child of God has a righteousness, has a holiness, has a sanctification
that's not measured by man's rules. But by God's, Christ has
presented us holy and unblameable and unreprovable, where? In His
sight, in God's sight. And that's all that matters.
We're made the righteousness of God, where? In Him. In Ezekiel
chapter 48, he's called Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is present. Did you know the Lord's present
right now? Oh, he can't sing, but he's present because where
two or three are gathered, he's present. He's the ever present
one. That's why Christ is the great
I am. He was never I was, and he'll
never be I will be. He's always I am. Jesus is the
eternal Christ. He's the one. We have life by
believing who He is. We have life through His name.
He's the Lord that provides. He's the Lord that heals. He's
the Lord our banner. He's the Lord our peace. He's
the Lord our shepherd. He's the Lord our righteousness.
He's the Lord our ever-present one. Now I want you to listen
closely and carefully to what I'm going to say next. I say
it intentionally, but I'll just tell you up front. You don't
make Jesus Lord. Whoever told you that lied to
you. God made him Lord before time ever was. You don't give
Jesus your heart. God doesn't want your heart.
It's deceitful above all things. It's desperately wicked. And
you do not let Jesus have his way in your life. How are you
gonna do that? The Lord hath his way in the
whirlwind. The Lord has his way in the storm,
and the clouds are the dust of his feet. Our God's in the heavens,
and he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. We're going to
let him have his way? You know, I was thinking about
that verse found in Psalm 135, verse 6. The psalmist said, Whatsoever
the Lord please, that did He in heaven and in earth and in
the seas and in all deep places. You know, that covers it all.
He does His will in heaven. He does His will in the earth.
He does His will in the seas. He does His will in hell. That
means that God does His will everywhere. There's no place
that God does not rule. Let me tell you something else
that you might not know. Everyone needs to know it. One
day when sinners go out to meet a holy God, they're going to
know it then. It would be best for folks to
find it out now. So I'm going to tell you, believing
on Jesus Christ is not an option. It's not an invitation. I'm sorry,
it's just not. Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ
is a command. This is His commandment that
we should believe on the name. There it is again. Something
about that name. that we should believe on the
name of the Son of God and that we should love one another as
he gave us commandment. Lazarus had been dead for four
days. What a picture he was of our
deadness and sin. In Kentucky, we call that plum
dead. He was four days stinking dead. When Christ came to Lazarus'
tomb, did they play soft music? And did Christ bid or beg Lazarus
to come forth? Lazarus, won't you give Jesus
your heart and make Him Lord and walk out of that tomb and
come down here in front of the Lord? Now, you might not understand
that if you wasn't raised in Southern Baptist like I was,
free will religion. But if you were, you know what
I'm talking about. You might say, preacher, don't
be ridiculous. If it's not ridiculous for modern
day religion, why is it ridiculous for me to say that? Lazarus was
dead, and so are sinners, and they're dead in trespasses and
sin, and Christ has to give them life. And it's a commandment. Lazarus, come forth. Did they
sing another verse? Did they plead a little longer?
No. The scripture says, he that was
dead came forth. Just like that. It's a commandment. And with the commandment of God
comes the power to do what he commands. That impotent man,
I've pictured him so many times in my mind as he lay there next
to that pool at Bethesda. He was pathetically laid there
waiting for an angel to stir the water. Now, whether an angel
did or not, I don't know. I kind of doubt it. Sounds a
lot like religious superstition to me. But when Christ saw that
man, he commanded him and he said, rise, take up your bed
and walk. Now did Christ softly and tenderly
plead for him to get up? No, no, no, no. Immediately the
man was made whole and he took up his bed and he walked. Because
with the command comes the power. Christ came into the world to
save sinners. Christ came to seek and to save that which was
lost. Are you lost? Are you a sinner? Well, if you are, that's pretty
good authority that you can be saved. God did not send his son
into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through
him, the Lord Jesus Christ, might be saved. And that's why he came,
and that's why he died. And it's on that authority that
I believe and put my trust in him. I know it's the same with
you who do. And it's on this authority that
I have life eternal. And it's on this authority that
you do. After He died, He rose again. He went back to heaven.
He went back to where He came from. Do you know why? Because
He's the Lord Jesus Christ. Because He's the Son of God. That's why. He's Jesus Christ,
God the Son. And that by believing who He
is, He's the Christ. He's the Son of God. And by believing
where He came from, where'd He come from? He came from glory.
He came from heaven. Then you believe that He was
God. And by believing that, friends, you have life through His name. If you've yet to believe, if
you've yet to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, to be the Christ,
to be the Son of God and God the Son, oh, how I pray that
right now, God might be pleased to make it so. Oh, I mean that
sincerely. Don't go out to meet God without
His Son. Don't do it. Confess the Lord
Jesus Christ in baptism. I'm not bashful to ask you to
do that. We ought to confess Christ in baptism before God's
people. You know, today's the day of
salvation. Why today? You ever thought about
that? Because there's no promise of
tomorrow. Did you hear me? No promise of tomorrow. Today
is the day of salvation. Today, if you hear his voice,
harden not your heart. Have you heard his voice? I hope
you hadn't just heard the words of a broken down creature. That
won't do you any good. But if you've heard the Word
of God, if you've heard the Word from the Christ, the Son of God,
come to Him, come to Him. All you that labor and are heavy
laden, know of your sin, come to Him, He'll give you rest.
I promise you He will. There's no rest like His rest.
His yoke is easy, His burden is light, because He's done it
all for us. Okay, I appreciate your attention.