Presentation Transcript

1. Study in John’s Gospel Presentation 23
2. Breaking the Mould Chap 7v18-36 Presentation 23
3. Introduction Type the phrase ‘breaking the mould’ into an internet search engine and in less than a second over one and a half million articles appear; describing people who in their day broke the mould in industry, technology, the arts and so on. Sometimes the mould is broken because new and better ways of doing things have been discovered but sometimes moulds need to be broken because what they produce is positively dangerous and harmful. One of the most difficult moulds to break is that of dearly cherished beliefs. Presentation 23
4. Introduction The ancient Chinese custom of foot binding caused severe life-long disability for many millions of women. It was only in the last century, and after a thousand years of abuse, that the practice was abandoned. But not without difficulty, for many women believed that bound feet made them more attractive to men and therefore enhanced their chances of marriage. Cherished belief systems are not easily broken and yet that is what we find Jesus doing in our passage. Presentation 23
5. Shaping The Mould of Jewish Thought The mind-set of the Jews was shaped by a misunderstanding of the purpose of the Mosaic Law. They believed that rigorous law-keeping could earn them God’s favour. Jesus, on his previous visit to Jerusalem, had healed a man on the Sabbath day. In the eyes of the religious leaders he had broken the law; in particular the 4th commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy. And because in the view of the religious leaders, Jesus had ‘worked’ on the Sabbath, they wanted to put this “Lawbreaker” to death! Presentation 23
6. Shaping The Mould of Jewish Thought Jesus’ response is enlightening. He tells them that anyone who trusts in the law for salvation will end up being condemned by the law. This is implicit in v19, where Jesus points out that, while they were trying to use the law to prove that he was a sinner, the law was in fact condemning them for their murderous designs. When we point an accusing finger at another and attempt to find them guilty by God’s righteous standards, we end up pointing three fingers back at ourselves and the law is not slow to pronounce its own judgement upon us. Presentation 23
7. Shaping The Mould of Jewish Thought There is a helpful illustration of this in the life of David. David compounded the sin of his adultery with Bathsheba with the murder of her husband. Then God sent the prophet Nathan to him. Nathan told a story which was really a disguised parable. The story recorded in 2 Sam.12v1 ff. ‘There were two men, one rich the other poor. The poor man had nothing except one lamb that had become a family pet. The rich man had hundreds of sheep. One day a visitor arrived at the rich man’s home. The rich man, unwilling to kill any of his own animals, took the poor man’s only lamb, killed it and served it to his visitor…’ Presentation 23
8. Shaping The Mould of Jewish Thought Upon hearing Nathan’s story, David was incensed and demanded to know, who the rich man was so he could be put to death. Nathan replied, “You are the man”. The law had condemned David out of his own mouth. The law will always condemn because it was never designed to bring salvation. Indeed, anyone who puts their trust in law-keeping, as many Jews did, will end up being condemned by the law. Salvation comes to us along a very different road. Presentation 23
9. Shaping The Mould of Jewish Thought Secondly, the person who trusts in law-keeping for salvation is in danger of clothing himself in hypocrisy. While condemning others he often excuses himself! The Jews condemned Jesus for working on the Sabbath, but by their own definition they did so too. Male children were required to be circumcised, when eight days old. But what if the eighth day was the Sabbath? Oh they still proceeded with the circumcision! Jesus was condemned for making a man whole on the Sabbath but the Jews excused themselves for circumcising! A fuller understanding of the law would have taught them that healing was a work of mercy and as such was not merely permissible but obligatory. Now they were blind to their own hypocrisy! Presentation 23
10. Shaping The Mould of Jewish Thought Thirdly, a warped understanding of God’s law can lend undue importance to external appearances - resulting in superficial judgements cf. v24. This was not only evident in their inability to recognise a work of mercy but in their evaluation of Jesus’ person. Cf. v27. “Jesus can’t possibly be the Messiah because we know his origins” i.e. he was born in Nazareth and is the son of Mary and Joseph. Some may have remembered that Jesus visited the temple as a boy of 12 and ‘made a bit of an impression.’ How woefully ignorant they were! Jesus ridicules the idea that they know him or his origin. Note how disturbing Jesus’ explanation of his origins proved to be. Cf. v29 ‘I am from him [the Father] and he sent me’. Presentation 23
11. Shaping The Mould of Jewish Thought The religious leaders’ limited knowledge of Jesus’ person and mission is something that Jesus returns to in v33-34. Speaking of his ascension to heaven, he says, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me. You will look for me but you will not find me and where I am you cannot come”. The mould of Jewish thought placed a great deal of pride in external human performance [cf. the Pharisee and the publican Lk. 18.11ff.] but in practice it produced only hypocrisy and superficial judgements. Presentation 23
12. Shaping The Mould of Jewish Thought Similar mind-sets are with us today. There are those who insist that their performance ratings are good enough to satisfy God’s standards. “I’m not such a bad chap, I’m a good neighbour, and I’ve done my bit for religion”. Their own sins are excused while what are seen to be the failings of others are disdainfully identified. “Oh God, I thank you that I’m not like her/him!” In addition, many of the superficial judgements and prejudices which people hold allow them also to produce a distorted picture of Jesus. “Jesus cannot be the Saviour of men because of….”. Presentation 23
13. Breaking The Mould Can such a mould ever be broken? Oh yes! Look at the end of v31,where some ask, “When Christ comes will he do more miraculous signs than this man?” There were those who had begun to abandon the straitjacket of popular thought and ask a quite different question. Of course they do not have all the answers. But they have come to realise that they do not need all the answers! They simply ask, ‘can anyone do more than Jesus?’ Let’s address that question. Presentation 23
14. Breaking The Mould First of all Jesus has fulfilled what God promised in scripture. Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets, I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them.” Matt.5v17. When John the Baptist was depressed in prison, he send word to Jesus asking, ‘Are you the Messiah?’ In reply, Jesus quoted Isaiah’s description of the ministry of the Messiah, “the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.” Lk.7.22 Jesus was fulfilling these predictions at every point. Could any other do more? Presentation 23
15. Breaking The Mould Secondly, think of the social reform that Jesus has been responsible for. The world in which he was born was one of great cruelty and horror. Jesus introduced a new ethic that was grounded in the new life that he imparted to his followers. Change was not instantaneous but as the risen Lord shaped the lives of his people it became increasingly apparent. In the U.K. and in other lands the greatest social reformers have been Christians, people like Wilberforce, Shaftsbury, Fry, Barnardoand Quarrier to name but a few. Presentation 23
16. Breaking The Mould This is not to suggest that non-Christians have done nothing to benefit society or that Christians have always done all that they could. What is important to note is that Jesus introduced a sea change in the way in which people truly cared for the needy. Tertullian in the C2nd records the amazement of the pagan world at the behaviour of Christians, they said of them; “See how they love one another”. Could any other than Jesus do more? Presentation 23
17. Breaking The Mould Thirdly, think of how Jesus has met the deepest spiritual appetites of men through the ages. He alone, on the basis of his sacrificial, substitutionary death brings us peace with God. Only he has provided the means whereby we can be cleansed of all our sin. Presentation 23
18. Breaking The Mould On one occasion King Robert the Bruce of Scotland was being chased by King Edward’s English soldiers. He knew the land better than they did. As he ran mile after mile he told himself that he might just escape. Then he heard a familiar sound, the baying of his own bloodhounds. They knew his scent and would surely run him to ground. The very animals he might have looked to for help and protection were going to be the death of him! Desperate and exhausted he arrived at a river and jumped in, allowing it’s current to sweep him a couple of miles downstream. Eventually he climbed out of the river and listened for the sound of his hounds. There was only silence and he gave Edward’s soldiers the slip. Presentation 23
19. Breaking The Mould Can you see the application of that story for the Christian? The bloodhounds of God’s law, no matter how hard we may try to befriend them and keep them, cannot save us. Instead, they pursue us and betray us. Condemnation seems inevitable. As seems hopeless until we discover a stream that will wash out the scent of sin forever. Jesus is that stream! What does the old hymn say with reference to Jesus’ sacrificially shed blood? “sinners plunged beneath its flood, lose all their guilt and sin”. Could any other do more than Jesus has done? Presentation 23
20. Conclusion Jesus said to the crowd, “you will look for me but you will not find me” v34. They were reminded of a door of opportunity. A time to respond to Jesus and all that he had disclosed of himself. Doors of opportunity do not remain open for ever. Recently, an unclaimed lottery ticket worth millions of pounds received incredible publicity. “There is just weeks to claim your winnings… just days left… just hours.”The tension in the newscaster’s voice was palpable then, “It’s too late to make a claim…”. God’s door of opportunity is open today but for how much longer? Will you allow Jesus to break the mould of contemporary thinking that holds you back from commitment to him? Presentation 23