Originally published September 29, 2017 under the title “A priest, two goats, and salvation”
Yom Kippur is this weekend.
For observant Jews all over the world, this evening, the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur in Hebrew) is celebrated. The Day of Atonement is the most holy of days in the Jewish calendar. It’s an annual picture of forgiveness that people could have. While Christians don’t celebrate this day, it’s one worth studying because everything about it points to Christ and the gospel.
Atonement refers to God’s work of dealing with our sin. Because of sin, the relationship between man and God has been broken.
Three significant elements of this day are the high priest, who would make the sacrifices, the goat that he would sacrifice, and a second goat who was set free.
Cleansing of the priest
When these commands were given, the Israelites are in their desert wanderings. So where do you worship while you’re on this long journey in the desert?
Well you bring the place to worship with you!
And so the Israelites traveled with the Tabernacle, which was a tent.
Now only a priest could go inside the Tabernacle. It was a holy place. And as we’ve said, the holiness of God demands reverence.
Within the Tabernacle, there was an inner sanctum called the Holy of Holies or the Most Holy Place, and only the High Priest could go in there. And he did it once a year, on behalf of the Israelites. The Day of Atonement.
Before entering, he had to offer a bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering to atone for his sins and those of his family. Because the priest was sinful too
As part of the priest’s preparation for entering the Most Holy Place, the presence of God, was that he had to put on special linen garments. Everything about entering into God’s presence was meant to be holy, set apart, different from everyday life.
Like we’ve already said, everything in this passage points us to Christ.
You have the high priest who had to cleanse himself before entering the temple.
But in the gospels, we see that Jesus is the true High Priest.
And Jesus doesn’t need to purify himself, or atone for his own sin to enter the presence of the Lord because he is the perfect High Priest.
Hebrew 7:26 says, “it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.”
Keep in mind the purification rituals needed for the priest. The Holiness that was required to enter the presence of the Lord.
While the Day of Atonement was just one day out of the year, there were animal sacrifices. But because Jesus is holy and righteous, he doesn’t need to purify himself to enter the presence of God. He’s God on earth.
Hebrews 7:26 says, “it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.”
Hebrews 7:27 offers another comment on the priestly system. “He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.”
The perfect High Priest and it is only because of Christ’s perfection that we are enabled to enter into the presence of God. He is the one who is our representative before God.
And on the Day of Atonement, one of the last things the high priest would do before going into the holy of holies was that he would take two goats.
2. The atonement by the goat
The sacrifices the priest has thus far made is for himself.
Leviticus 16:15 says, “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat.”
Blood is sprinkled in the Most Holy Place and this is what the sacrifice is meant to do to atone for sins, to cover up our sins. The sacrifice of the goat was meant to symbolically bear the sins of the people.
Leviticus 16:16 says, “Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins.”
All of their transgressions and sins. All of their intentional defiance to God.
Because of the sacrifice of this goat, it was a powerfully symbolic way for atonement, for a restored relationship with the Lord. For sins being covered by the blood of the goat.
Today, we have the gospel. We have Jesus. But before Christ, this would have been an incredibly powerful symbol for the sins of the people being atoned for.
We see that the sacrifices then point us to the greater sacrifice today. That Jesus is the priest but he is also the sacrifice. Because while a goat could not atone for our sins, and while a goat’s blood could not cover up our sins, Christ’s could. He was the worthy sacrifice.
I know to the world, the idea of an animal sacrifice to atone for our sins seems arctic, seems backwards.
But it was merely a shadow. Because our forgiveness could never have been truly paid for by the life of some animal.
It’s not that the sacrifice of that goat actually was the reason why God forgave the people. It was a heart that came to God in faith and recognized the cost of sin that mattered. Just like today.
Hebrews 10:4 says, “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
They were never intended to take away sins. It is only the blood of Christ which can do that.
And atones for our sins. He covers up our sins. His blood washes away our sins.
The first goat on the Day of Atonement was sacrificed for sins.
But the second goat wasn’t slaughtered.
And the attention turns to that goat in verse 20.
3. The other goat
20 “AND WHEN HE HAS MADE AN END OF ATONING FOR THE HOLY PLACE AND THE TENT OF MEETING AND THE ALTAR, HE SHALL PRESENT THE LIVE GOAT.
21 AND AARON SHALL LAY BOTH HIS HANDS ON THE HEAD OF THE LIVE GOAT, AND CONFESS OVER IT ALL THE INIQUITIES OF THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL, AND ALL THEIR TRANSGRESSIONS, ALL THEIR SINS. AND HE SHALL PUT THEM ON THE HEAD OF THE GOAT AND SEND IT AWAY INTO THE WILDERNESS BY THE HAND OF A MAN WHO IS IN READINESS. 22 THE GOAT SHALL BEAR ALL THEIR INIQUITIES ON ITSELF TO A REMOTE AREA, AND HE SHALL LET THE GOAT GO FREE IN THE WILDERNESS.
-LEVITICUS 16:20-22
So our sin is associated with the second goat too. Both hands placed on this goat. It was symbolically transferring sin to that goat. The first goat died and his blood was a symbol of our sins being covered. The second goat is the result of our atonement. It was a symbol for sin being taken away.
Sin totally removed when you trust in God.
What a reminder as that goat is set free. That we are set free from sin because of God’s grace.
If you’re someone who ever struggles to believe that God could forgive you. If you’ve done something really bad in your past, or if you have an area that you’re struggling with today and you feel like God wouldn’t love you, couldn’t forgive you. If there’s ever any lingering worry about that, our sins are taken away because of Christ.
They are totally removed, like the second goat, sent away, never to be heard from again.
We don’t deserve it but that’s how God atones for our sins. He forgives us of our sins. He removes our sins and our relationship with him can be restored.
Because of the work of Christ, because of the grace that God offers to all who accept him, you don’t have to feel that way. Your sins are forgiven. But not only are they forgiven, they’re totally removed, they’re taken away.
Not because we’re so good but because Christ is that good.
Both in the Old Testament and today, what mattered was faith. Trusting in the Lord. Recognizing that we don’t live up on our own. That we aren’t holy. We aren’t worthy.
But when we trust in Christ, he makes us worthy, he makes us holy.
The forgiveness of our sins has a cost we cannot pay.
It’s fascinating as I think of all of the ceremonialism in the Old Testament Law. Everything was done for reasons. All of the exact and meticulous detail under which the tabernacle was built. All of the specific instructions given to the priests, the very specific laws regarding sacrifice, the specific ways in which to approach God. The cleansing that needed to be done, the atonement for sin.
It’s teaching us the holiness of God. A holiness we don’t have, that we can’t live up to. But we are welcomed into the presence of the Lord because of Christ.
For God to forgive us, the Lord paid the price. And he does that for anyone who comes to him by faith. Let this passage be a reminder that there is a cost for sin. A tremendous cost for sin.
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The prosperity gospel is a movement that has its origins in America about a century ago and came to greater prominence after the Second World War. It has largely grown out of pentecostalism and the Word of Faith movement.
It is the idea that it is always the will of God for genuine believers to be materially blessed and physically healthy. It’s essentially preoccupied with material blessings.
In John 6, Jesus has just fed a large crowd of people. They’ve wanted to make him king. They’re drawn to his teaching and signs, yet Jesus rebukes the crowd when he says: “you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.”
I’m not saying that this first century audience had a 20th and 21st century notion of a health and wealth gospel. But they’re drawn to Jesus because of him fulfilling a physical need. There are elements of what they believe which are picked up in the prosperity gospel movement.
It’s not the only place where we find this attitude in the New Testament. Paul addresses a similar issue within the church at Philippi. Philippians 3:19-20: 18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
They’re not looking to take up their cross and follow him. They’re not looking to die to themselves and their sinful ways. They’re there because of a free meal.
The theology that looks merely at the material blessings of God has many problems.
First, it’s not the gospel.
The gospel is the message of Christ crucified and his redemption of sinful people for the glory of God.
He died to save souls.
The purpose of life is knowing and enjoying Jesus Christ forever. The purpose of life does not revolve around material blessings.
Secondly, prosperity theology teaches things that are not Biblical.
It undermines the doctrine of suffering. The Bible does not hide from suffering.
Prosperity theology believes that it is never the will of God for a person to be sick, to die from cancer, to struggle with depression.
The Bible teaches that the Christian life does involve suffering.
God uses it and works all things together for good for those who love him. Romans 8:28.
God uses suffering to work his purposes. Story of Joseph. We referenced it last week. Joseph is betrayed by his brothers, but through that betrayal, it brings Joseph into Egypt which allows him to be in a position years later to save his family during a time of famine.
But we also see God’s providence and goodness through that evil.
Genesis 50:20: As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
God uses suffering to sanctify and perfect his people.
James 1:2-4: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Notice that James says to count it all joy WHEN not IF you meet trials of various kinds.
To quote my professor D.A. Carson, if you’re not suffering, just keep living.
Romans 5:3-4: we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope
God uses suffering so that we can have a positive influence on others.
Wonderful passage. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
God uses suffering to remind us that our ultimate need is in him. 2 Corinthians 1:8-9:
8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
And we could talk for hours on many more passages.
God allows suffering. In his sovereign will, God allows it. It is talked about constantly in the Bible and especially in the New Testament.
And you have televangelists and authors of popular Christian books who say the opposite of that.
They’re teaching an idea that is not Biblical.
Yes, God does ultimately promise healing, in heaven. But there is no promise given in the Bible that all true believers or faithful Christians will always experience healing in this life.
The third problem with prosperity theology. It turns God into your genie.
God does not primarily exist to fulfill to give you everything you want.
A lot of times the things we want are not good.
If you have a child and just gave them everything they ever wanted, would that be loving? Of course not. Because a lot of things kids want aren’t good for them.
Prosperity theology views giving not primarily as a way of giving back part of what God has given for the purposes of his kingdom, but as a way to receive material blessings back as a result of your generosity.
Prosperity theology views prayer as a way to force God to give you what you desire.
Prosperity theology believes that faith is rewarded by leading to prosperity.
Fourth, it teaches untrue things about the world
While turning God into a genie and believing in a theology where good things happen if you’re good enough or if you have enough faith, what that essentially teaches a person is that they’re in control of their own destiny.
Not Biblical. The Bible teaches that God is sovereign.
Fifth, prosperity theology actually distracts us from true riches.
Ironically, God actually wants to give us so much more than what prosperity theology focuses on. But if we just focus on this world, on materialism, on what’s physical, we lose sight of that.
Christ has blessed us with every spiritual blessing.
Sixth: prosperity theology distorts the teachings of scripture and takes the Bible out of context
It cherry picks the Bible. We’re going through the Gospel of John. Prosperity gospel preaching churches don’t go verse by verse through books. Because they have a theological belief system that is not supported by the whole of scriptures and so they pick and choose what fits their system.
You don’t have great scholars or theologians of prosperity theology. Because honest reading of the Bible tears it down.
The seventh issue with prosperity theology is that it relies heavily on special revelations from God.
I know I’m hammering on this topic this morning. But it’s a highly influential, unbiblical movement that influences Christians here in America and across the world.
Many of the best-selling Christian books are written by prosperity teachers and preachers who do not teach or preach the Word but preach a worldly message. Many, I would say most, televangelists fall into this camp.
Our world eats up prosperity theology because it tells us that it’s all about us. It co-opts the gospel and replaces it with worldliness.
As Jesus said, “you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.“
Why are you a follower of Jesus?
Is it because he is the way, the truth and the life? Is it because he is glorious? Is it because he’s worthy? Is it because he’s the savior of the world? Is it because of the gospel. That you were dead in your sins and that the only way to redemption was through his life, and death and because of the shedding of his blood?
I’m hoping that I’m preaching to the choir on this. For those of us who love the Word of God, who have reverence for the scriptures, the prosperity gospel must be seen as a counterfeit gospel.
But here’s my challenge.
Because while we might not buy into a health and wealth gospel, we have so many blessings in our country that there can still be a temptation into falling into the trap of thinking that we’re good and that our lives should be good. We should have good families. We should have happy marriages. We deserve to not really suffer.
It’s a constant temptation. But the Bible makes no such promises. Why are you a follower of Jesus?
The Biblical message is not that we should follow Jesus so that everything will be easy. It’s that when you follow Jesus, you’re taken from death to life. It’s not a promise of ease but it’s a promise that the difficulties have a purpose. It’s not a promise of getting what you want, but it’s a promise of all things working together for your ultimate good. People wanted to follow Jesus because he took care of a physical need, but Jesus came in order to tend to our spiritual needs.
Final verse of the passage. Jesus has given his rebuke to the crowds. He’s exposed their heart and the real reason they’re following him.
27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” (John 6:27)
Jesus tells them to work for the food that endures to eternal life and that is the food which Jesus came to bring.
Not only did Jesus come to bring it, but it can come only through Jesus. As the end of the verse reminds us that it is Jesus upon whom God has set his seal. Jesus is the one who has come to bring eternal life to a sinful world.
And he offers that life to you today if you believe in him by faith. Know that you are a sinner and that Jesus has come to forgive you of your sins and reconcile you to God.
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Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. -James 3:1
Words matter.
We can use words to bless, words to harm, words to boast, words to give instruction, and words to deceive. Through words we can tell a person that we love them, or that we hate them. Through words we can compliment or tear a person down.
When the Prophet Isaiah had a heavenly vision of the throne room of God, and beheld the holiness of God, he said in Isaiah 6:5: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Words were part of the original sin. In the garden, the serpent, twisting God’s words: “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
God had never said that. He said they could eat of any tree except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
“We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die” (Genesis 3:2-3).
Eve also gets it wrong. God had never said they couldn’t touch the tree. Twisting God’s words. Further provoked into sin by the devil In Genesis 3:4-5, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
When Adam and Eve are confronted with their sin, they use words to blame in Genesis 3:12, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
Words matter.
In the first part of James 3, James zeroes in on teachers. He gives a warning to teachers that they will be judged with greater strictness. The reason why carries into verse 2 that we all sin in many ways, but one of the ways common to us all is that we stumble and sin in what we say.
There is danger in bad Biblical teaching. It can lead people astray. It can teach people falsities, because the God who is revealed in scripture is the eternal, immortal, wise God. He’s the King of the universe, the creator of all things, he spoke the universe into being.
There’s not a canvas where we are painting and where we can make something look however we want it to look.
God is God. He has revealed himself in his scripture, his nature, his holiness. And so sound teaching about God matters. Teaching truth about God matters. Understanding God -in terms of how he has revealed himself in the Bible – matters.
And not all churches do that. And not all teachers do that.
Not many should be teachers because teaching necessarily involves words. Teaching about God’s word, teaching about God’s gospel necessarily involves words and language, and in talking, it makes it easy to say things that are untrue.
We can’t be fast and loose with God’s gospel. We can’t make God who we want God to be if that’s not true about how God reveals himself in scripture.
Unbiblical teachings that resort more to our feelings than to truth.
Doesn’t God just want me to be happy? Not at the expense of sin!
Words matter. How we approach the word of God matters. Like the serpent in the garden, twisting the very words of God.
So it is true that there is a warning given to those who teach. And anyone who does teach from the word of God should question his motives, should be humble before God, and prayerful about the text. It should be taken seriously.
We should be careful in our approach to God’s word.
But regardless of if someone is a teacher or not, all of us should still use discernment in listening to what our teachers say. In listening to that which is in accordance with scripture. Of being fed by sound Biblical preaching. And that’s true here, and thats’ true if you ever move to a new community. And that’s true of any teacher who you might watch on tv or who you might podcast. We should be discerning with the Bible teachers we listen to.
60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.
Prayer
Our Heavenly Father,
We are but frail and finite and fallen people, but we come to you as the infinite, glorious, and righteous Lord.
You are our hope, our strength, our shield. We rejoice that we can come to you in worship.
You are the Almighty. You can do all things and you work all things according to the council of your will.
May we marvel at your greatness and praise you for the grace of your gospel which you make available through your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Lord, we pray for our continued sanctification as your people and as your church.
We pray that your gospel be clearly proclaimed this morning.
We pray for everyone here that we would trust in Jesus as Lord and savior.
Lord God, may we follow your perfect will, may we be disciples who make disciples. May our lives and our words make you known to others. Lord, we pray that you would use us to be your hands and feet in the world.
Lord, may our hope be in the gospel and not in ourselves, our strength, our talents, our resources, our possessions, our families, our spouses, our jobs. May it be in you and you alone.
Lord, we continue to pray that through the unrest and disagreement and strife, through politics and uncertainty, through the struggles with this pandemic, we pray for revival in our nation and for a season of gospel fruit. Lord, we pray that you prepare the fields for harvest that your Church can reap a harvest of disciples to Christ. May we pray for that and be part of that.
Lord, we pray for our time in your word. May we again be challenged and encouraged by the truths of your Most Sacred Scripture. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Introduction – what’s popular isn’t always good
What’s popular isn’t always good.
I think of some of the mega-churches throughout America.
It’s easy to think that they’ve really figured it out, like they really must be doing something right.
But they’re often just appealing to worldliness.
It’s not rocket science. Mega churches have figured out that you need to preach a motivational, self-help message that focuses on prosperity themes of God wanting to bless you because you’re good without ever really doing any deep digging into the meaning of passages or theology and downplaying sin. Mega churches have figured out that people are drawn to high production value and catchy music. They’ve figured out that people will tolerate a theologically shallow church that has good youth programs.
Yes, there are some large churches today and throughout church history which have been very good. But they’re the exception, not the rule.
What’s popular isn’t always good.
In 2 Timothy 4:3-4, the Apostle Paul warns Timothy:
the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
It’s not just megachurches. It’s a whole Christian segment of Christian culture. We see it in many of the best-selling “Christian” books which display a similar theological shallowness.
It’s easy to get on board with those things. There’s no risk to it. It asks very little of you. You can take or leave Biblical ideas based on preferences.
But Jesus did not preach an easy-listening message. He didn’t come to pander. He didn’t come to be a people pleaser.
He came into the world and taught repentance. He taught that life was found in him.
And the things that he said in our passage from last week were not easy to accept.
And so in this week’s passage, as we finish up chapter 6, we’ll see the response to Jesus’ teaching. And in this passage, we’ll see the response from three groups to Jesus.
To give a very brief reminder for last week’s passage. Last week, we were talking about Jesus’ teaching on himself as the “Bread of Life.” And the point was that Jesus is the true bread from God who has come from heaven, and it is through consuming this bread that humanity can have eternal life. The passage also talks about faith and believing in Jesus which becomes synonymous with consuming the bread.
False disciples
And with that, we come to this closing section of this chapter. And the first of the three groups who respond to Jesus are false disciples.
Verse 60. Still in the aftermath of everything that Jesus has said.
When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”
The word “disciples” is used here. The Greek word for disciple is “mathetes” which refers to a student, or pupil, or adherent. We tend to attach a lot of theological baggage to that word. This verse is not referring to the twelve, but to an audience of people who had come to follow Jesus.
And these disciples say to Jesus “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”
What is the hard saying?
There are several aspects to what Jesus has communicated which would be challenging to their sensibilities.
Jesus has said that eternal life is through faith in him.
Jesus has said that his flesh is true food and that his blood is true drink and he has also said that a person must eat his flesh and drink his blood.
There have been the rebukes Jesus has given to the crowd, which may not have been well received.
Jesus cut against the grain of their own expectations for the Messiah which could have driven some people away.
Jesus has made divine claims in continually talking of himself as one who has come from heaven, and he’s also made claims that he is greater than Moses.
And so when they say it’s a hard saying, after hearing all that Jesus has said, they’re not saying that the words themselves are hard to understand, but that his teaching is hard for them to accept.
The crowd has acknowledged the difficulty of Jesus’ teaching, and Jesus response:
Verse 61-62:
“Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
Another challenging statement.
I think D.A. Carson’s explanation of these verses is helpful.
There are two interpretations for what Jesus is saying.
One is that “if you think what I’m saying is hard to accept, how will you begin to accept the resurrection when that happens?”
The other interpretation of this verse is that Jesus is saying the opposite. That his teachings might be hard to accept, but seeing the risen Christ will actually make it easier to believe in him.
So which view is correct?
I think it depends on the person.
I think for this group to whom Jesus is speaking, it’s the first interpretation. That they’re not convinced in the authenticity of who Jesus is after hearing him teaching, explaining his ministry, seeing his signs, and that nothing will convince them.
If his teachings are confounding to the group, to an even greater degree, his crucifixion will be.
And indeed, the cross is difficult.
1 Corinthians 1:18-19:
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
Paul will say a few verses later in verse 23:
but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
The idea of the cross is crazy in the eyes of the world. The idea that a dead man could live again is crazy. And the idea that humanity would even need Jesus to die for us is equally absurd.
And for the crowd to whom Jesus is speaking, if they can’t handle his teachings, they will struggle with his resurrection which is far more radical, far more scandalous, far more unfathomable, and far more unpredictable.
But again, I take that phrase both ways that it’s also referring to the resurrection as the supreme faith builder for those who follow Jesus. We’ll get back to that idea at the end.
With either interpretation, when Jesus talks of himself as the Son of Man ascending, I take the ascension to also have a double meaning.
I think it’s referring both to Jesus “ascending’ in the sense that he was lifted up on the cross when he was crucified.
It’s a similar idea to when Jesus refers to being lifted up in John 3:14:
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up
I also think when Jesus talks of his ascension, he’s referring to when he ascended into heaven after the crucifixion. As he says in our passage: the Son of Man ascending to where he was before.
Jesus came from heaven.
And that is truly a unique thing that Jesus can claim compared to other religious figures. Not only that Jesus would be in heaven, but that he had come from heaven.
Jesus came from heaven. As the opening of this gospel tells us, Jesus was in the beginning with God and in fact was God (John 1:1-3).
John 1:18 says: No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
Jesus is fully God and man and came from heaven into the world so that men could go to heaven. That points to his sovereignty, authority, and divinity.
As the passage continues, we learn more what false discipleship looks like.
Verse 63-64. Jesus says:
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
Let’s unpack this. Jesus has said that it is by the Spirit that we are given life.
That’s already been established in this gospel.
When John the Baptist saw Jesus, he said that he baptized with the Holy Spirit in 1:33.
When Jesus talks to Nicodemus, he says in 3:5-6:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
We are born again through the Spirit.
Jesus says “the flesh is no help at all.”
It is not a naturalistic change that happens. It’s a Spiritual change.
1 Corinthians 2:12, Paul says:
Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.
Paul will also say in verse 14:
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned
Life comes from the Spirit, and the Words of Christ point to the Spirit and the regeneration and new life that is offered.
It’s easy to accept a teaching here or there from Jesus. It’s easy to accept some moral values that he gives us.
It’s hard to accept that a person must be born again and that his gospel allows us to become a new person, Spiritually.
Even what Jesus had said in the previous section about being the bread of life who’s flesh we must eat and blood we must drink is heavily Spiritualized language.
But the words of Christ point to life.
Jesus points out that there are people in this group who do not believe.
Verses 64-65:
64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
Because of sinfulness and unbelief, Jesus is fully aware that there will be many who reject him.
And we see the response of the crowd.
After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
They walk away.
Just as people today can be drawn to various aspects of Christianity, or religion, there are also those who turn away from the gospel because they don’t like its teachings, or demands, or exclusivity, or savior.
This group turns away, not because Jesus lacks grace, but because they don’t like what Jesus has to say.
But what’s popular isn’t always right.
The false disciple can go one of two ways.
Either, they will walk away from Christ because they don’t accept the truth of Christ, who he is, what he did, and why he came.
Or the false disciple will continue to seek out churches and pastors who tell them what they want to hear.
I’ll remind us again of 2 Timothy 4: having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
That’s why we must all be students of the Bible and know the Word of God and use that to guide us in doctrine and to consider what we believe about God, theology, and the gospel in light of scripture.
We must come to Jesus for who he is.
There’s the famous hymn “Just as I am”
Just as I am, without one plea
But that Thy blood was shed for me
And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee
O Lamb of God, I come! I come
And the point is that God accepts us for who we are.
We need to trust in Jesus for who he is.
So that’s our first group. False disciples.
To reference the Parable of the soils, where the farmer sows his seed and some lands in good soil and produces a great yield, but other seed falls among thorns, or is scattered and eaten by birds, or falls in poor soil.
They’ve heard the words of Christ, but the word did not take root.
And that brings us to our second point and our second group: true disciples.
In this passage, we see that false disciples struggle with Jesus’ teachings and walk away from Christ. True disciples receive his teachings and have reverence for Christ.
True disciples
This crowd has seen the eternal God, they have the light of the world, they have the truth in their midst, they have one who has seen God with them, they have the one who provides living water and the bread of life, but they don’t like what he has to say and so they leave him.
Verse 67: 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”
It’s a rhetorical question.
All throughout this passage, John has been pointing to the divine knowledge Jesus has.
Verse 61, when Jesus is talking to the false disciples: Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling
We see his knowledge again in verse 64: Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him
And we’ll actually see it at the end of the passage in verse 70 when Jesus refers to Judas as his betrayer: Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.
So Jesus is clearly aware of what’s what. Also in verse 70, Jesus says that he had chosen the twelve disciples.
And so when he asks them if they also want to go, he knows that they’re not going to. He knows exactly what will happen.
He doesn’t ask that in a sense of being insecure or needy.
It’s more like a challenge.
Are you with me?
Peter responds. When the disciples are together as a group, it’s generally Peter who speaks up and answers on behalf of the group in the gospels.
68-69:
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
The disciples never have a perfectly worked out theology, and they still have much to learn during the ministry of Jesus.
We see that even in some of the wording Peter uses.
For instance, the phrase “the Holy One of God” is interesting, because that phrase seems to actually speak to Peter’s lack of theological acumen.
That is not a phrase used in the Old Testament and it’s used one other time In the New Testament, and it’s a man who’s possessed by a demon who calls Jesus “the Holy one of God.”
Despite the novelty of the title, it’s appropriate. Jesus indeed is the Holy one of God.
For Peter and the disciples, they’re still learning about who Jesus is but they’re following him. And that’s how the entire Christian life goes.
We too become his followers, but we don’t have it all figured out.
Peter responds in faith and makes three affirmations. We’ll talk about these briefly.
Jesus is the only one to whom we can go who has the words of eternal life.
Again, that is what we have seen again and again throughout this gospel.
That’s the reason why John wrote this gospel. The thesis statement of this whole gospel is found in chapter 20:31:
these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Jesus is the savior of the world. He is the christ. He is the holy one of Israel. He is the word who became flesh. And it is Christ and Christ alone through whom we have the promise and assurance of eternal life.
Peter speaks of belief in Jesus.
we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
They do see truth in who Jesus is.
They believe in Jesus, who he is, and the message that he came to bring into the world.
The final affirmation Peter makes is to the identity of Jesus.
Again, while the title “Holy One of God” is not common in the Bible, it’s no less true.
Jesus is God on earth in whom we have the promise eternal life through faith in him. He has been sent by the father. He is perfectly holy and righteous.
What do you believe?
Are you with the crowd who walked away? They couldn’t get on board with his teachings, his ministry, and his gospel.
Or are you with his true disciples who know that Jesus has the words of eternal life and that he is the Holy One of God?
That is the most important thing that a person can know.
So we’ve seen true disciples and false disciples.
It’s the third kind of person. A fake disciple.
Fake disciples
The first group left Jesus, the second group is the twelve who stays with Jesus. But the passage concludes:
70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.
Judas will be important later in this gospel, but here he is introduced by name.
He had already been alluded to in verse 64, when speaking of Jesus’ divine foreknowledge:
Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him
And the passage ends by telling us that it would be Judas who would betray Jesus.
In that, we see the sovereignty of God’s plan. It was no surprise in the divine plan that Jesus would be betrayed. In fact, it was part of the divine plan.
We talked about perseverance and eternal security a few weeks ago. And the Bible is clear that a person cannot lose salvation. Judas was not saved and then lost it. It’s that he was never saved to begin with.
Just because someone is around the church does not mean that they’re walking with the Lord, serving the Lord, or that they truly know the Lord.
Judas isn’t the only example in the Bible of a person who pretends to be faithful but is actually just a predator out only for his personal gain.
1 John 4:1 warns us about false prophets:
do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Matthew 7 talks about the wolves in sheep’s clothing. People who pretend to serve Christ but are doing just the opposite.
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
Matthew 7:21-23:
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Matthew 24:11 says that many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.
Sometimes it’s people who exploit the church to prey upon the church. I see some of these high profile pastors who fall from grace and some of the horrendous abuses that happen in churches and I wonder if they were ever truly walking with the Lord.
But that’s for the God to know and to decide.
But what the Bible does teach is that there are those in churches who wish to bring harm and seek their own personal gain. Judas would go on to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
Another important lesson from Judas is that a person can be in the very inner circle of Christ, one of the 12, and not truly be saved.
Just because you were baptized, just because you prayed a sinner’s prayer, just because you go to church every week, just because you know the Bible, that is not your salvation.
Jesus had said in verse 40:
For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
That is where salvation is and if your hope is anything else, or anyone else – including in yourself or your perceived goodness – then you are not in Christ.
No matter how close to Jesus someone is, there is no hope of eternal life without faith.
The fake disciple might speak the right churchy language and go through the motions, but he or she does not actually believe in Jesus.
The true disciple, the false disciple, and the fake disciple.
I’m reminded of a verse earlier in this passage when Jesus was talking.
In verses 61-62, Jesus had said to the whole group: “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
He was challenging them with how they would respond to the cross.
For many, the cross is foolishness, the cross is a stumbling block.
But to those who are being saved, it is the power of God.
To those who believe in Jesus, it is the place of greatest victory, the place where Jeus said “it is finished,” the place where sin was defeated.
What is your response?
Hebrews 12;2 points to Christ’s death on the cross:
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Which type of disciple are you?
Again, the world wants to rely on works and our goodness. The Bible says we cannot.
Paul writes in Galatians 6:4:
far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
We look to Jesus as Our Holy One of God, we believe in him and the death he died to sin and the life to which he was raised, and in that we have eternal life, to the glory of God.
Regeneration (also referred to as being “born again”) refers to new spiritual life which God gives a person. The new regenerative life is what brings a person from spiritual death to spiritual life.
The Holy Spirit is immensely important in the work of the salvation of souls and in the work of God’s church. In Ezekiel 36, the prophet points to a future time of washing and renewal. In that passage, we see three stages of regeneration which the Lord brings through the Spirit.
First, the Spirit brings renewal
Ezekiel 36:25: I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
Ezekiel is in the Old Testament and he’s looking forward to a future time of cleansing that God would bring by means of the Holy Spirit. We live in that time now. When we are regenerated, it is a Spiritual cleansing which the Lord brings.
With the water, it’s easy to draw parallels to baptism. And in fact, the filling of the Holy Spirit is referred to as a baptism.
John 1:33. John the Baptist is speaking about Jesus and says: He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.
It is a privilege which all Christians share, as we see in 1 Corinthians 12:13: For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body
All believers in the gospel of Christ are filled with the Spirit. There’s no such thing as a Christian who does not have the Spirit.
Romans 8:9-10 is a great passage which communicates this idea: 9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
So we are baptized into the Holy Spirit. Water baptism then is a symbol of the regeneration and cleansing which comes through the Holy Spirit. Baptism does not bring salvation in itself. It’s an important and powerful outward symbol of an inward work which the Lord has done.
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
What a powerful picture of God’s grace and renewal.
In Shakespear’s great play, MacBeth, there’s a scene where Lady MacBeth is overcome with grief and guilt for her murderous greed and ambition and she desperately tries to wash a blood stain off of her hands.
There’s no actual blood stain. It’s in her mind. But that’s the brilliance of the scene. Because we all have a stain of sin upon our hearts and lives that we cannot wash away on our own. It is God who brings the cleansing and renewal.
In Psalm 51, David too is ravaged by guilt and grief over a terrible sin he’s committed. His affair with Bathsheeba and him sending her husband Uriah to the frontlines in battle where he was killed.
David pleads with God: Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
And in John 3:3, Jesus says: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God
He will then talk of the cleansing which accompanies regeneration. John 3:5-6: 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Water and Spirit.
To have faith is to have the Spirit and to have the Spirit is to be cleansed.
You have all sorts of rituals in the Old Testament. Washing is a powerful symbol of purity throughout various cultures and religions.
The washing that God gives through the Spirit is a cleansing of the human soul.
We see the language of this renewal again in Titus 3:4-5: when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit
It is because of the mercy of God that we are made morally clean through the work of the Holy Spirit.
So through regeneration, God cleanses us. Through being born again, God cleanses us.
When Jesus says, “you must be born again,” that’s another fantastic metaphor for regeneration.
Because it is a new birth. You’re a new person in Christ. Also, the metaphors matters because we are regenerated as a one time event.
Jesus said that we must be born again. He did not say that we must be born again…and again and again.
It’s not that we are saved today, then we lose that, then we do better and we’re saved tomorrow. Many Christians believe that. It’s not a Biblical idea.
We’re sealed with the Holy Spirit as a guarantor of our salvation.
Ephesians 1:13-14: In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Second, the Spirit gives us a new heart
Returning to our passage in Ezekiel: I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Once again, what an incredible metaphor that the Bible uses. I assume it’s because of the Bible that the heart has become such a powerful symbol in our culture. Think about it for just a moment.
Someone who’s very kind if referred to as tender-hearted. Someone who’s unkind and unfeeling is called cold-hearted. When we’re really sincere, we say something is from the bottom of our heart. When we see an impressive athletic display, we say they played their heart out. Really difficult situations are seen as heartbreaking.
And there are lots more little phrases like that. It’s a powerful symbol in our culture that we see as being the seat of our emotions.
Because of regeneration, God gives us a new heart. Thousands of Americans wait on donor lists in need of heart transplants. Heart disease is annually the leading cause of death in America with more than 1 in 5 deaths coming from heart disease.
Our hearts don’t last forever. And certainly, the heart is important in the Bible. Love the Lord your God with all your…What comes first? Heart.
Quoting again from David in Psalm 51:10, he asks God: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me
We cannot make our hearts pure. But the good news is that through regeneration, God does a heart transplant in us. He gives us a new heart and a new Spirit. So the Spirit brings renewal through cleansing, it is through the Spirit that we are given a new heart.
Third, the Spirit enables us to follow God’s law
The gospel changes lives. When we’re born again, that doesn’t mean that we never struggle, it doesn’t mean we’ll never sin. But we are forgiven.
We aren’t perfect but we’re declared righteous because of the righteousness of Christ. But true recognition of sin, true faith in Christ, that changes a person. And it’s often especially noticed when an adult comes to faith.
If you have a child who’s grown up in the church and always had faith as part of their life, that’s an incredible blessing. And there certainly is a moment when faith becomes more real to a person, where their trust truly is in the gospel.
But when you have someone who’s an adult and gone years of living their own way, pursuing their own interests and desires, and Jesus comes into their life, there should be fruit of that. Not all at once. It’s not saying a person suddenly never has any areas where they struggle. It’s a process. We’ll talk more about that next week. But when the light of the gospel truly takes root in a person’s heart, it causes a change.
It’s like you suddenly see the world through a different set of eyes. It’s like in the Wizard of Oz where the story goes from sepia to color. And the reason why there are changes and sudden changes is again due to the Holy Spirit and the process of conversion.
The Spirit enables us to follow God.
We certainly see that idea in Ezekiel 36:27: And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules
It is the Spirit of God working in us which enables us to follow the will of God. When God works in a person’s life, and transforms a person to love him and love him and enables a person to follow his commands, that is miraculous.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2)
That same Spirit who was in the beginning, part of creation, and who hovered over the waters dwells every single person who is a Christian and who believes in the Good News of Jesus Christ.
How amazing is that!
And it’s not because of us. It’s because our God is a good God.
Consider Ezekiel 36:22: Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.
God’s works of grace are not because we were deserving. God ultimately makes grace available because of his character, because of his goodness, because of his faithfulness to the promises he had made, and for the sake of displaying his own divine glory and greatness.
Yes, God loves us. But it’s not because we’re lovable but because God is loving. And so through the gospel, through the work of Christ on the cross, we are forgiven and justified. But what separates real faith, what separates the believers from the pretenders is regeneration.
In his systematic theology, Louis Berkhoff says:
“Regeneration consists in the implanting of the principle of the new spiritual life in man, in a radical change of the governing disposition of the soul, which, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, gives birth to a life that moves in a Godward direction.”
Numerous passages in the New Testament talk about the work that God does in the life of a believer.
1 Corinthians 2:14-16: The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
God works through us. We don’t regenerate ourselves. We don’t cause our own Spiritual growth. We participate in the work which God is doing in us but we don’t cause it. I hope that makes sense.
In Philippians 2:13, Paul puts says: it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
God works in us. New birth, being born again changes a person.
While it is through Christ that we are forgiven, justified, and given eternal life; we see that the Spirit is involved in bringing new life – specifically through cleansing us, through indwelling us, through causing a change in our heart, and by enabling us to live for God.
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