Jesus Final Appeal

Well, go ahead and take your Bible this morning. Turn with me to John chapter 12. John chapter 12. We will be in verses 44 through 50. We'll finish up the chapter. We have had six messages so far in John 12. This will be our seventh. And as I have said numerous times here in this chapter, we see a major transition in the earthly ministry of Jesus. Now in taking a step back, we see that Jesus made two pivotal decisions which changed everything. What I mean by changing everything from this chapter forward, everything is different in the life and the earthly ministry of Jesus.

First Jesus steps forward in verse 23, and He declares that the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Of course through our teaching, we know that Jesus is speaking about the cross. And just after that declaration, Jesus taught almost exclusively on the cross from verse 24 to the very end of the chapter. And then second, Jesus then retreats from public life starting in verse 26. And from this point on, until the crucifixion, Jesus withdraws from public ministry and He focuses His attention primarily on teaching and preparing His disciples.

Now, if we go ahead and we look at our verses this morning, we will notice that verse 44 reads, Jesus cried out. Go ahead and take a look at your verses. We'll read them together in just a few moments. But notice that it says in Jesus cried out, whether you use a modern translation or the old King James, they all say the very same thing. Also, if your Bible is a red letter edition, you easily notice that Jesus is speaking from verse 44 until the end of the chapter. Now, these observations should stir up a question or two. If Jesus had retreated from His public ministry, why do we see Jesus crying out right here in this verse?

Another question, if He is withdrawn from public life, how can Jesus still be teaching publicly? If we really think about that, it might cause us to say, what's going on with this? This goes back to John's purpose in writing this letter, this Gospel, in the first place. To refresh our memories, we need to revisit the theme verse from the book, which is John chapter 20 verse 31. Now, I want to read the verse, but I will read verse 30 as well. And I'm quoting starting in verse 30. Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. Now, pause there for a minute.

We've learned that Jesus did glorious quality, numerous miracles and signs, but John tells us that He did far more than we have. Isn't that wonderful? But verse 31, "But these things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life, but in His name." The purpose of John's Gospel was to prove the deity of Christ and to evangelize those who were reading His Gospel. That is why I titled the series as I did, Christ the Son of God, Believe and Live.

Now, John, the Apostle John, was not giving his version of Jesus' life as the author of the book, but he was inspired by God in what He wrote and how He wrote. We should know from our study through 1 and 2 Timothy, but 2 Timothy says in chapter 3, verse 16, that all Scripture is breathed out by God. That means that all Scripture was breathed by God. That word, that phrase parallels what took place in the Old Testament when God breathed the very breath of life into Adam.

And John, as he is inspired by God as the author of this Gospel, he reaches back into the public ministry of Jesus, he takes what Jesus had taught and gives a summary of Jesus' Gospel message here. If we remember John's purpose for the book, we see that John is making one last appeal. John is making one last appeal that these readers, even these Jews, would believe and live. So that brings us to the title of the message. And the title is Jesus' Final Appeal. Jesus and His Final Appeal. Like I said earlier, we will be in verse 44 to the end of the chapter.

I've already called your attention to verse 44, but let's pick up at verse 44 and let's go to the end of the chapter. Jesus cried out and He said, "He who believes in Me does not believe in Me, but in Him who sent Me, and He who beholds Me," some translations say "sees." "Also beholds or sees the One who sent Me," verse 46, "I have come as light into the world that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness. And if anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge Him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings has one who judges Him.

The word I spoke is what will judge Him at the last day. For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me commandments." What to say and what to speak. Verse 50, "And I know that His commandment is eternal life. Therefore, the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me." Now, you see how we're going to divide these verses. Four main truths that we're going to take out of these verses. Belief in God, verses 44 through 45. Jesus the Deliverer, verses 46 through 47. Jesus and His Words, verses 48 through 49. And then briefly, the Father's commandment in verse 50.

So let's dive right into these verses. Let's look at our first main truth. Truth number one, belief in God. Belief in God. Go back to the verses. "He who believes in Me does not believe in Me, but in Him who sent Me." Two times that word believe is used. And then verse 45, "And He who beholds or sees Me sees the one who sent Me." Now, if we have a good memory, these verses will remind us of what was taught in John chapter 1, verse 1. I loved how Brother Keith sang what we looked at in chapter 1, verse 1. Both John 1, 1 and these verses, verses 44 and 45, emphasize a unity that Jesus and the Father, God the Father, have. They are inseparable.

Both God the Father and Jesus are one. But we also see a familiar word here, and I've already referenced it, and that word is believe. Jesus used this word in verse 36, and He uses this word two times in verse 44. But here we will see that Jesus adds another dimension to this belief. He paints a fuller picture, if not a full picture, of who we believe in. There are two observations out of these verses I want to make. First observation is belief in the totality of Jesus. Belief in the totality of Jesus. We see this in verse 44.

"He who believes in Me," Jesus is speaking of Hisself, "does not believe in Me, but in Him who sent Me." And He differentiates between Himself and the Father. But I want us to see, first, belief in the totality of Jesus. Now this true belief that we learned of in verse 36 carries over into what we're looking at. If you would, glance back up to verse 36. "While you have the light, believe in the light, in order that you may become sons of the light." We learn that that becoming is a one-time event. One goes from darkness to light. It is a distinguishable moment in one's life.

And what Jesus is saying is, when you truly believe, when you become a true child of God, there is this continuous belief, but this continuous belief in the totality of who Jesus is. This encompasses a belief that Jesus was born of a virgin, that being His mother, His earthly mother, Mary. That encompasses the fact that He was raised as the carpenter's son. Remember, it was Joseph who was entrusted to be His earthly father. This encompasses a belief that He was a man, so much so that He appeared to be nothing but a man. This encompasses a belief that He was in the beginning with God. He was God, John chapter 1, verse 1.

"He came as the promised Messiah, performing amazing signs and miracles and declaring the truths of God and His kingdom, unlike any one before Him." And this encompasses a belief that He was God in the flesh, so much so that He appeared to be nothing but God. So this belief, this continuous belief, this becoming a true child of the light, encompasses a belief in the totality of all who Jesus was and is. Then second, notice this belief in God. It is a belief in the totality of God. This is a belief in the totality of God. Go back to the verse. "He who believes in Me does not believe in Me, but in Him who sent Me.

And He who sees Me or beholds Me, beholds the one who sent Me." Well, who is He talking about? He is talking about God the Father. So this true belief, like we learned about in verse 36, "becoming a child of the light, entering a continuous state of belief," it is a belief in the totality of who God the Father is. This encompasses a belief that it was the Creator God who spoke the world into existence in six days, who sent this promised Messiah, Jesus. This is the same God who called Abraham unto himself to be a great nation beginning in Genesis chapter 12, verse 1.

This is a belief in the same God, the great I am who spoke to Moses through that burning bush. And that same God is the God who called his people out of Egyptian slavery as a fulfillment of His covenant, His promise. And this belief, it is a belief that encompasses this one true God, and this one true God was behind the whole plan of the promised Messiah. So what do we see here? Jesus is wrapping up everything from Genesis 1, 1, all the way to Himself as the promised Messiah into one package. Jesus is saying that belief in Him is belief in the Old Testament God. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

And if I can use this language, it is a package deal. Now, you must look at the audience here to really grasp the depth of the implications here. Remember this mixed bag? Remember these Greeks who were there? These Jews who were there because of the Passover? But notice this crowd who was following along? First, we notice the Jews. They were Jews in the crowd. For them, Jesus was telling them that to believe in Him was to believe in the Old Testament God of their fathers. And this had dramatic implications for them. They were looking for the promised Messiah. They were diligently studying the Old Testament scriptures.

And so what Jesus is saying is that which you have been hungering for, I am He. Then second, for the Gentiles there in the crowd. For them, Jesus was inviting them to believe in Him. And in so doing, He was inviting them to be a part of the great promise of God. What was He saying? You're in. The Jews were saying no, no, no for generations to the Gentiles. But Jesus was saying, no, you're in. You see the implications here? Now for you, for me, how might we apply this to us today? And I think for us to apply this, we must see that we are much like those in the crowd today. There are some of you.

There are people in our lives, people in our churches, even people here today. They are much like the Jews. See, the Jews were the righteous in the crowd. They knew the scriptures. They obeyed the scriptures. Many studied the Old Testament scriptures diligently, looking for the promised Messiah. They were the ones who would have made the best neighbors because they walked the walk and they talked the talk. They were, if I could use this language, good, godly people. But listen, even though they were adhering to the teachings of the Old Testament, they were still in darkness.

There are people like that in the life of our churches today, righteous among people, living according to the book, being good neighbors, paying their taxes, paying their tithes, even sharing the gospel with friends and family. But if they're unconverted, and if you are unconverted, you're just like these Jews. You are living the Christian life in the flesh. See, that's the problem that Nicodemus had. Remember Nicodemus and John 3 when he came to Jesus? He was trying to live a sanctified life before he had ever been saved. A great teacher among the people, respected by his fellow Jews, but unconverted, living in darkness.

And there are the righteous among us. And look, you can be outwardly righteous and still be unconverted, just like the Jews. They were appalled that Jesus would look at them and say, you're in darkness. Come to the light. But there are always some among us. There are always some around us. And there are even some in the life of the church who feel like the Gentiles, feel like outsiders. The Gentiles always felt like outsiders. The Jews rejected them time and time again. It was their duty to take the message of the one true God to the Gentiles. The Jews failed there.

And what Jesus does is he comes along and he says, I am a Messiah for you too, not just the Jews. He was appalling to the Jews that he went to Samaria and talked with that woman. That woman had bad reputation there at the well. He was in Samaria talking with a Samaritan woman and then a Samaritan woman, a very, very bad reputation. And what Jesus is saying is, you, you feel like an outsider, but you're in if you'll believe in me. I don't care where you've been and what you've done. I don't care how dirty you may feel if you'll come to Christ, if you'll come to Christ and believe in Christ and experience the new birth you're in.

That's what appalled many of the Jews in that day. They were Gentiles going right by them to believe in the one true God and they were appalled. So what do we see? Belief in God and belief in God encompasses so much and it applies to so many. Let's move on. Truth number two. I want us to see Jesus the Deliverer. Jesus the Deliverer. Let's look at verse 46. I have come as the light into the world that everyone who believes in me may not remain in darkness. Verse 47. And if anyone hears my sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.

Again, we see similar language that is very familiar to us. But more than this familiar language about light, we see clarification. We see clarification. Jesus emphasizes his role in coming as the Messiah. Jesus elevates the true purpose for which he has come. Now there are two observations I want to make here as well about his purpose. First of all, I want us to see that Jesus is the light. Jesus is the light or Jesus as the light. I have come as the light into the world. Here we see familiar language, this language of light in darkness. Jesus spoke of himself as light back in chapter 12, verses 35 through 36, our verses from last week.

Look back up to verse 35. "For a little while longer the light is among you. Walk while you have the light that darkness might not overtake you." This is that similar language. Now we have this back in John chapter 8, verse 12 as well. Jesus is saying that I am the light of the world. Now notice in this verse the contrast. Notice the contrast that the light has with the darkness. Go back to the verse. I have come as light into the world that everyone who believes in me may not remain in darkness. What we must see is that mankind, who without Christ, are the natural man, this is the sinful man.

Those who are unregenerate, they're natural, they're sinful, they are in darkness is what Jesus says. But what must be seen here is Christ's desire. His desire was that people would believe in Him and come to the light. We see this same desire in Luke chapter 19, verse 10. In Luke chapter 19, the text reads, "For the Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost." We could accurately say that Jesus has come to seek and to save those in darkness. He desires to deliver men out of the darkness. Jesus is the light. Second, I want us to see Jesus as the judge. Jesus as the judge.

And if anyone hears my sayings, verse 47, and does not keep them, I do not judge Him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. Now to understand verse 47, we must understand that Christ's purpose in coming was not to judge, but to save. Now we've established that fact in verse 46 and in other places in John 12. Now in a sense, we know that Christ is judge. There are many passages that speak of Christ as judge. We see this in John chapter 5, verse 22, 27, 30. John chapter 8, verse 16, and 26. John chapter 9, verse 39. Jesus as judge.

Of course, He will ultimately judge all sinners at what's called the great white throne judgment, which is seen in Revelation chapter 20. But Christ's role in coming the first time, this time in John 12, was not as judge, but as to save and to deliver. This was His purpose. Now keep this in mind. Christ is the judge. He is the judge that will come back. But we see that Christ here is the deliverer, the Savior of men. So what do we see here? We see Christ's mission from day one until His final breath. His mission was to deliver men. He has come into the sinful dark world. And I quote the Bible commentator, AW Pink, here. It's real short.

But he says, "as a light to reveal God and expose man." That is exactly what Jesus does. He reveals God and He exposes man. Now I want to show you something in the language which will add some emphasis here. This phrase, "I have come." The King James reads, "I am come." Now the construction of the word "I" and the construction of the phrase "am come" communicates a forceful coming and a remaining. He came, yes, as a lowly servant, but he came boldly to save men. And he came as the Savior who would stay. Christ burst forth on the stage of history to die for the sin of man, not just men in that day, but in our day as well.

So what do we see here? Christ's mission was to boldly come into the darkest of darkness, into the terrible sinfulness of a sinful world, to deliver men from darkness. And let me tell you, as a preacher of the gospel, I love it because Christ came to stay. He didn't just come to save then. He's come to save now. And until this day of grace is over, he is here to save. In application, we must see that Christ came as the deliverer. And this is our time of grace. This applies to today, people, and we must see. Until he returns again and the time of grace ceases, he has come to save. Now, to me, there are implications in two different places.

First, for the church, corporately. We are God's people, the ecclesia, the called out ones. We are born again, called together to be this church, this local assembly to do kingdom work. Well, what is kingdom work? It's to take this gospel, this Jesus, wherever we may go. To take this gospel around the world. So what are the implications here? Christ boldly came to die on the cross from men, and he came to stay. And this gospel applied to those men in that day, and it applies to today. And the responsibility that we have as a church is to take the gospel, this Jesus. For some of you, it's to take this Jesus to your spouse.

It's all of our responsibility to take this Jesus to our children. It's our responsibility to take this Jesus to our neighbors, friends, coworkers. And it is our responsibility as a church to declare this Jesus. If I can summarize it like this, that is our main, most message. The second implication is for some of you, specifically, individually. God has put you in a church, and God has put you in a place where you can hear the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ, boldly. Christ boldly burst on the scene as the savior of the world.

And some of you are in a place where you can hear the bold message of the cross, the bold message of your sinfulness. And God has you here in a time of grace. This is a window of grace. Christ is here. Christ is now. Christ is working. And it's mysterious, and I don't understand it, but he is working to save men even as we speak. So Christ is the deliverer. Let's move on. Our third main truth I want us to see. Jesus and his words. Jesus and his words. Verse 48 and 59, "He who rejects me "and does not receive my sayings, my words, "as one who judges him." The word I spoke is what will judge him on the last day.

"For I did not speak on my own initiative, "but the Father himself who sent me "has given me commandments," or a commandment. What to say and what to speak. The results of Jesus' words are many. All throughout John's gospel, we have seen the results. At times, Jesus' words cause great crowds to follow him. Did we not see that? At other times, it has caused the religious leaders to pick up stones to kill him. We have been seeing that through his words, many have believed in him. And in that great invitation to follow him in verses 35 through 36, we even saw some of the Jewish leaders in his day did follow him.

So here, we will see more results of Jesus' teachings, Jesus' words. Now three observations that'll help us see about his words. First of all, we see rejecting Jesus' teaching. Rejecting Jesus' teaching. First portion of verse 48, "He who rejects me "and does not receive my sayings "has one who judges him." Just like there are some who receive Jesus, there are some who reject Jesus. We have seen this reality played out all through John's gospel. But what must be seen here is that they are rejecting Jesus' commandment to believe, therefore, they are rejecting Jesus.

Now this is very important, because this corrects an erroneous teaching by some who say that the unregenerate, the lost, the natural man is not responsible to obey the gospel. They say that the unregenerate, the lost, the natural man, they are dead, so how can they believe? Now we see that Jesus has been calling on them to believe all through these verses. But they are rejecting Jesus' teaching. They are denying Jesus' teaching. Second, I want us to see Jesus' teaching will judge. I wanna go back and read all of verse 48, "He who rejects me and does not receive my sayings "has one who judges him." Notice what he says.

"The word I spoke is what will judge him "at the last day." The second portion of verse 48 tells us how man is accountable for Christ's words. Here we see that at the judgment for the lost, that's in Revelation chapter 20, the very words of Christ will rise up against them in judgment. Now this is a little lengthy, but I wanna read this text. You might wanna jot this verse down or read on your own time. In Revelation chapter 20, I'm gonna pick up in verse 11, down to verse 13. Notice what's said in Revelation 20, at this judgment for the lost. Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. That's Christ, that's Jesus.

From his presence, earth and sky fled away and no place was found for them. Verse 12, "And I saw the dead, "great and small standing before the throne, "and books were opened." Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books according to what they had done. Verse 13, "And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, "death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, "and they were judged each one according "to what they had done." What do we see here? This is evidence that lost humanity is held accountable for Jesus' call to believe. These Jews rejected Jesus.

These Jews picked up stones to stone Jesus. And there in Revelation chapter 20, "Every time they heard Jesus command them to believe, "will be brought up before them and they will be judged." Then third, notice Jesus' teaching is from God. Verse 49, "For I did not speak on my own initiative, "but the Father himself who sent me "has given me commandment." What to say and what to speak. Here Jesus communicates two realities concerning everything he ever taught and said. First, the reality that he had perfect communion with the Father. He was one, perfectly unified with the Father. He was one with the Father in thought and in deed.

And then second, the reality that all he ever spoke did not come from himself, but it came from the Father. Again, he was one with the Father in thought and in deed and in word. So what are we seeing here? Jesus is saying that his words are not from anyone but God. God the Father, in verse 39, the phrase, "I did not speak." It is in the emphatic, meaning Christ is emphasizing that all he said came from God. One Bible commentator that I'll read said that this was an emphatic disclaimer. I like that. An emphatic disclaimer.

Jesus is saying, "It didn't come from me, it came from God." That Bible commentator goes on to say, and I quote, "What he is saying in the strongest possible terms is that the saving word did not originate in any human source. It was the Father who gave it." And in that, there is a great and mighty responsibility that man have to believe the gospel when they hear it. Now an application. It's really awful to think of how this applies to people that we know. It's terrible. It's awful to think about how this may even apply to some of you here.

Listen, if you're here this morning and you do not believe and you continue in your state of rejection, when you die and you stand before God and you were brought up before this great white throne of judgment in Revelation chapter 20, every time you heard the gospel will be brought before you. Everything you've done, every evil thing you've done, yes. But every time you have heard the gospel, every time you've heard the name Jesus, every time you've heard someone preach like this, every teaching that you've ever heard from the word of God will be brought before you and that will judge you. That's a terrible thing.

That's an awesome thing to think about that. How many times have you heard the gospel? How many times have you heard someone say that you need Christ? How many times have you heard someone call you out on your sinfulness and you know deep down in your heart you are not right with God? Listen, that will be brought before you at the judgment. It's also terrible to think about how this applies to our loved ones. In the life of churches today, just like in other days, there's some who are praying for lost spouses. People who are dealing with lost children, were dealing with lost friends and neighbors.

We all have lists of people we're praying for. Do you realize that if they continue in their state of unbelief and rejection of all that is good in Christ and the gospel, that every single time, every single time they heard the gospel will be brought before them at the judgment. Every time you shared Christ with them, every time they saw Jesus in you and they knew down deep there was something different about you, it will be brought before them. You see, Jesus and his words, not one of his words will fall by the wayside. They will all be used at the judgment.

And then our last main truth, truth number four, I want us to see the Father's commandment, verse 50. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. Therefore, the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told me. Here we see such beautiful and perfect unity communicated again. Not only unity, but perfect obedience. Jesus was perfectly obedient to the Father in every way. Now look at the second portion of the verse, go back to verse 50. Therefore, the things I speak, I speak just as the Father told me. Here we see wonderful obedience and unity to the message of the Father. But notice what we have here in this verse.

According to John's account, we have the final words of Jesus' public ministry. In these final words, Jesus communicates simply and clearly that the Heavenly Father's commandment is eternal life. If I can go back and use some language that we used before, remember during Jesus' prayer, we had a window into his very being. Here we have a window into God's merciful, graceful heart. Because what is the Father's commandment? It is commanded to believe. He is commanding mankind to believe in his Messiah. That is a window into a merciful, gracious heart of the Father. Now notice that the Father gives a sign.

Remember that in John's gospel, the miracles were signs. John, the Apostle John, purposefully used that word sign. The miracles, the signs, were to point people to Christ. They were to direct people's attention to Christ as the Messiah. Now what was the Father's sign? We're talking God the Father now. God the Father's sign was nothing more than the Messiah himself, the entire life of Jesus. Jesus' miracles, his wonderful teachings were all a sign. His crucifixion, his resurrection, and his ascension was nothing more than a sign.

And then if we continue chronologically in church history, what he left behind in gathering those sinners into that first church was nothing more than a sign. Everything was a great big flashing sign from God the Father saying to humanity, "I love you, I love you, believe in me." Do you see? This is the Father's commandment. Go back to the verse. "And I know that his commandment is eternal life. Therefore, the things I speak, I speak just as the Father told me." I wanna make application of this verse in two ways. This loving commandment of the Father. First, look at your own life. Look at your life.

If you were unconverted, I want you to see the great flashing sign that God has given you. He is giving you a great miraculous sign that is screaming, "He loves you, he loves you, he wants to save you." And that sign is the church. A man of God that would preach the word of God and people of God around you. That is the sign. If you really wanna know if God loves you, look around you, God's giving you the church. And my own heart is a pastor, minister of the gospel, and is your pastor. My heart burns more and more and more to take this flashing sign of the church farther and farther to more and more people. Don't you see?

The church is to be a flashing sign to all those we would come in contact with. And I'll be honest with you, there are a lot of things in culture that shine. There are a lot of things in culture that are bright. But the brightest and the most glorious thing in culture should be the church. It should be the body of believers. It should be you and I. As we relate to lost people around us, there are lost people everywhere and they should see Christ in us. And we should echo the heart of the Father, just like Jesus echoed the heart of the Father. Everywhere we go, this is the institution that God's given to take his message. Do you see?

There was only one man on the face of the earth in that day and time that was to be the voice of the Father and it was Jesus the Son. And there's only one institution that is to take the heart of the Father around the world and it is the church. And my conclusion this morning is simple. It's in the form of a question. And that question is this. Will you pour your life into this institution, call the church, to take this final appeal to the world? It's a great crescendo here.

John, inspired by God, reaches back and takes the very heart of Jesus, which is the heart of the Father and he gives us this great summary of the message of Jesus, this great summary of his earthly ministry. And at the very end in verse 50, we see that everything is just an echo of the heart of the Father. And will we be the people who will pour our life into this institution, call the church, to make this appeal all around the world? Now I wanna personalize it a little more. There are more children who need this appeal.

You know, from time to time, people come to us and they will look at us and they will say, you know those children that we minister to, I was just like them. How many more children need to hear this message? You know, the other night, some of us were praying later here at the church, and one of our godly people made the comment, there are a lot of hurting people here. How many hurting people around us in this culture, in this world need to hear this message? How many people who have been chewed up and spit out by life need to hear the message of the gospel and the love of the church?

How many men are out there, lost, trying to conquer the world, and they need Jesus, they need true biblical salvation? God's given us some good families, strong families, lots of children. How many more families are out there and they need a church where the predominant message will be the heart of the father? You see how personal it gets? How many more are out there just like you? And will you pour your life into this institution? The church is to carry the heart of the father.

And I believe that God wants to raise up for himself great work, it's called the New Testament church to do this work, and that's what we're here for, to pour our lives into this final appeal from the father. Let's pray.