Gooding, David: 5 - On the Road with Jesus

And once more, a very good evening to you. There's only one thing that worries me about you tonight, you're looking so fresh, when I thought you would all be looking overburdened with the homework I gave you last week. And that suggests to me that this next week I ought to be more severe in my expectations of what homework you will accomplish. This is our third session, and this evening, if we can possibly do it, though we shall not subject ourselves to any penal servitude. If we have the time to do it, we shall consider, first of all, what people have called the prologue and then the prelude to the gospel by John. And then we shall consider the second of the, uh, journeys that our Lord made from Jerusalem and back again. That is to say, we shall try to study in our first session chapter one verse one to chapter two verse eleven. and in the second half of our proceedings, we shall have a bird's eye view of chapters five and So So we have work ahead. But before we get down to our main business, allow me to introduce to you certain other technical terms that you may find helpful to use as tools in your serious study of Holy Scripture. Hitherto we have thought together of structure, of thought flow, and of pattern, these three, and the greatest of these is... thought flow, yes, the greatest of these is thought flow. To that happy list, let us add tonight one or two other things. We shall find that in the Gospel of John, as elsewhere in the New Testament, there are many, many allusions to the Old Testament. And they are not there, of course, for the reason that the New Testament writers want to show off their knowledge of the old. They are there for certain very practical reasons. Now, these allusions, some of them are explicit. That is to say, the gospel writer will explicitly mention that he is alluding to the Old Testament. A famous one of those would be in John chapter three and verse fourteen. Our Lord himself talking to Nipo- Nicodemus and deliberately and explicitly refers to an Old Testament incident as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. And our Lord is quoting that, he's alluding to that Old Testament incident, not just as a decoration, but as a thought model. He is about to tell Nicodemus why he, the Son of Man, must be lifted up, that whosoever believeth on him may in him have eternal life. And these things being strange to Nicodemus, more strange than they should have been, our Lord in his kindness quotes the Old Testament as an analogy, as a thought model, and draws the simile or, or, or comparison, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. So there are numbers of explicit allusions, and naturally we shall pay attention to them. But then there are, and I call very careful attention to them this evening, there are what you will call implicit allusions. And if I spend some time now in demonstrating some of them in the Gospel of John, it is of importance to our later study. Uh, you'll f- I, uh, it is possible sometimes to feel that, uh, preachers are being, uh, fanciful in their expositions, and perhaps ninety five percent of the time they are, of course. But then sometimes they're not. And it is important, therefore, for what we shall be considering this evening, to observe that throughout this gospel, as elsewhere in the New Testament, there are implicit allusions to the old. Allusions that you wouldn't recognize because John doesn't b- bash you in the ribs and say, I am now about to allude to the Old Testament. He supposes that you know your Old Testament, and that without being told, you will recognize the similarity between the whatever it is in the Old Testament he's talking of, and the New Testament thing he is describing. So let me take what is a very extended allusion in the, uh, gospel of John. And for that purpose, to make life quicker and easier, I cite first the Old Testament story that we find in the book of Exodus. You'll remember that in Exodus there was an evil king called Pharaoh, who held the Israelites in bondage in a place called Egypt. And there they groaned under their burdens until God sent Moses. Moses was sent. But come now, I will send you to Pharaoh. And when God sent Moses to, uh, Pharaoh, uh, Moses took the precaution of saying, now, Lord, uh, first I come to the Israelites and I say the Lord, the the Lord has sent me, and they will say to me, yes, but what is his name? And when they say, what is his name, what shall I say? And from the middle of the burning bush, God replied, you will say, I am that I am has sent me. Further defined that glorious name of deity by reminding Moses that he was the God of their fathers, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So it is the question of the name, name of God, which Moses had to declare to the, uh, Egyptians and, and to the Israelites, of course. Then Moses took another precaution. He said, very good, Lord, and when I go to them and I say the God of your fathers has appeared, uh, to me and sent me to you, perhaps they won't believe. What do I do then? So God gave Moses some signs to do. But first Israel might be brought to believe. Eventually, the story, you know it well, tells us how Moses kept the Passover. And getting the Israelites out into the wilderness, manna came down from heaven. The story is well known. Now, in the Gospel of John, chapter six, of course, uh, our Lord talks about the manna, and of himself as the bread of life. But look at, uh, some of the other things that are said in the fourth gospel that are not explicit allusions to the Old Testament, but when you see them, you will at once recognize the similarity. In the Gospel of John, our Lord talks of a certain prince of this world. It is only in the Gospel of John that our Lord uses that terminology, but in the gospel, and particularly towards the end, he uses it several times over. Then the term world, and the prince of this world, as you know very well, is one of John's favorite terms, and generally speaking, it carries bad connotations. We shall meet it very soon tonight. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, but the world knew him not. In John, the disciples have to be saved out of the world, and once taken out of the world, they have to be kept out of the world, and so forth and so on. Yes, but in John's gospel, and particularly in chapter six, but elsewhere, our blessed Lord refers himself- to himself as the sent one. Say thou of him whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world. Thou blasphemest because I said I am the Son of God. Our blessed Lord is the sent one of God. And then twice over in his prayer to his father, John chapter seventeen, first our Lord says, I have declared to them thy name, and then again at the end, I have declared thy name to the men thou gavest me out of the world, and I will declare it. So here in the gospel, our Lord is declaring the name of God. And just as in the book of Exodus, the name of God is I am, that I am. In the Gospel of John, our Lord is to be heard ex- uh, explaining to the crowds, before Abraham was, I am. That was a claim to be the I am of Old Testament time. And then, of course, uh, just like Moses was given signs to do so that the people shall believe, the fourth gospel tells us that our Lord did many signs that are not written in the book, but these signs are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. When our Lord is eventually crucified, John's record is in chapter nineteen. John tells us of the incident where the soldiers came and they broke the legs of the first one crucified along with Christ, and they broke the legs of the second one, and when they came to him, they were about to break his legs, and then the Roman soldier changed his mind unaccountably and saw that he was dead already and drew his lance and pierced his side, and forthwith came their blood and water. That was such a solemn and significant moment that at that point the evangelist interposes his ab- his assurance that he is speaking the absolute truth. He that saw it by record, and he knows it's true, and God knows it's true. For this was no ordinary felon's death. Multitudes of men had, uh, had lances through their sides, but with this man it was exceedingly significant. For in the Passover regulations, it was said, no bone shall be broken. When our blessed Lord came as the Lamb of God at last, to yield up his life for our sakes and for the forgiveness of our sins at Calvary, to deliver us from the wrath of God and from the prince of this world, and was our Passover. And just as the Roman soldier came to break his legs, no you don't, says God, no you don't. And the soldier, seeing he was dead already, had another thought. You don't break his legs, for a certain scripture said, no bone of him shall be broken. And another scripture said, and they shall look on him whom they pierced. It was important to have John's witness that in the very minutest detail, his death at Calvary as the Lamb of God fulfilled that Old Testament scripture. So, as you see, there are many allusions in the Gospel of John for those who happen to know their book of Exodus. If you don't know that Exodus is about these things, well, all right, you may still read, uh, the gospel and profit therefrom. What is the point of knowing all these things? Is this just a question of playing crossword puzzles with the word of God? Why should I bother to seek out, uh, these, uh, allusions to the Old Testament? And one of the answers is, here you see the mastermind behind history and behind Holy Scripture, that God, knowing his son would one day come into the world, prepared for his coming by laying down all kinds of institutions and happenings that should serve as models, as thought models, so that we should be under- able to understand the work of Christ when Christ himself came. Well, you'll say, what is the point of our Lord's dying on Calvary? How much should we he- be helped if all the New Testament Christ- scripture said was he died for our sins? Well, so what? What was the significance of his dying? Did he die as a martyr? Did he die as a prophet, or, or what? He died for our sins. Ah, but the gospel is not simply he died for our sins. The gospel is he died for our sins according to the scriptures. And that sets the model for the death of Christ and for the significance of the death of Christ. Passover is one of those early scriptures according to which our blessed Lord Jesus died for our sins. The idea of using a model, of course, is nothing strange, is it? The dear physicists and mathematicians, more strength to their elbow, when they are examining, for instance, the insides of an atom, uh, do see, will make a mathematical model, will they not? Because the insides of atoms are rather small to look at, you see, and mysterious. So they do their best and they make a mathematical model of the thing. And then they look at the model, and very often in the course of these last twenty or thirty years, the studying the model, uh, the scientists have said to themselves, ah, now according to this model, just about here somewhere, there ought to be a particle of some kind. So having looked at the model and deduced there must be something just about there, then they've gone to their old cyclotron and put an atom or two in and boosted them up with I don't know what, and split the atoms, and lo and behold, just there, where the model said it should be. Lo and behold, it turned out there was a bit of a particle precisely there. The model was very useful in making you think and seeing the relations of things, and uh, then getting you to look at the reality ever more closely. Sometimes, therefore, it is the very model that will help you to grasp more of the reality than otherwise you had seen. And allow me to put in a plea for the diligent study of Old Testament. It's not just a preliminary to the New Testament. You know the story so far, now read on. No, it's more than that. Much of it is, uh, divine preparation for the coming of God's Son, and much of it, as I say, are thought models, and so it is here too. You will see, if we read about the world in the fourth gospel and listen to our Lord praying to his father, saying he had been given these disciples out of the world and that they are to be kept therefrom, what do you mean by world? What is worldliness anyway? In my youth, it used to concern itself rather too much with the color of women's stockings, worldliness. Till now, they, uh, should have been black, or at the least brown. And when somebody with these new inventions, uh, these yellow color looking things that you can see through, then my seniors said that that was very well played, you'll see. Until in the course of the revolution of the planets, there came a time when all the ladies wore the yellow things, do you see, and none of them wore black or brown. Whereupon, I remember it vividly, one Sunday morning in church, there came down from the terrible city of London a real modern thing, and do you know what the color of her stockings were? They were black. Wow, they said, how worldly. Of course, it was a genuine concern, wasn't it, of those elders that Christians should, uh, dress themselves suitably and not outrage the communities in which they lived by their way out dress. But too much concentration on externals can sometimes cause us to miss the real point, can't it? What? What is the world? Well, not altogether the color of your stockings. What was the, what was Egypt? As you'll see in the model, it stands over the world, doesn't it? Over against the world. And Egypt to the Israelite, and what made it such a bondage? It wasn't just the hard work, was it? You'll see, when they came into Egypt, they came in with the great promises of God and the covenant of God with their forefathers and with Abram in particular. God had told Abram, now your seed, the program is this, your seed shall go down into a foreign land and there be held in captivity, but after so long I shall visit them and they will come out, and I'm going to bring them once more to Canaan to their glorious inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey. That was the program. So long before they came into Egypt, God had laid it down, and there was a future for them beyond Egypt. But when they got into Egypt and another Pharaoh arose that did not know, uh, Joseph, and Moses came to the Pharaoh and said, Pharaoh, God has sent me to you, the God of our fathers, and he says, let my people go that they may worship me. Nonsense, said Pharaoh, nonsense. What do you say? The God of your fathers has made you a promise or something, and you have an inheritance out there to go to, Moses. Hm. Nonsense, Moses, my boy. As far as these people are concerned, all those stories about your forefathers and covenants and things, and the book of Genesis, whatever you call it, that's all imagination, that's myth, that's legend. You can forget all about that in this modern world. And as for this inheritance business out there in the blue somewhere, Moses, it, that's nonsense. As far as your people is concerned, it's nonsense. Let me tell you, Moses, what life is for your people. It's just this. You get up in the morning and you work and you s- you eat, and then you come back and you eat and you work and you sleep and you go to bed, and you eat, sleep, work, work, sleep, eat, with a little football thrown in, and that is life. And as for there being a past and a future, nonsense, Moses. And God sent Moses to Israel to remind them and to convert them to this faith that what Pharaoh called nonsense was actual reality. Long before they'd come into Egypt, God had had dealings with them and made a covenant with them through their forefathers, and God had a future for them. There was a glorious inheritance flowing with milk and honey. What had to be done was to break the hold of Egypt over them and set them free. And if we thus read history, that, uh, uh, Egypt becomes a very vivid thought model with which to understand what the world is. You'll see, if you ask the atheist, then he will tell you that, well, that's all that life is. Just say it's the here and now. All those stories about Genesis and God creating and God's plans and God's purposes, he'll tell you that's nonsense. That's all myth and and uh uh and fairy stories. And as so there being an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and it fades not away, reserved in heaven for you, that's grandmother's fairy stories, that is. All that life is, is this present world. You get born, you go to school, you grow up, you sleep, you eat, you work, you get married, you eat, you work, you sleep, and you die. That's all there is. And our blessed Lord Jesus came down from that other world into our world to make it clear to us he's no just prophet with a few bright ideas on morality. He came from another world, says John. Before he left, he gathered his apostles and he said, now, gentlemen, have you understood it? Now, have you got the real kernel of the issue at stake? I came forth from the Father and am come into the world. Oh, I see. So there is another world to come from. Again, I leave this world and go unto the Father. So this world isn't all there is. And our Lord came that he might provoke our faith in that glorious God. Let me put a question to you, therefore. If in order to get Israel out of Egypt, Moses had declared to them, had to declare to them the name of God, what's the relationship between the two things? How does it help to get people out of the world to declare, to declare to them the name of God? And we better know because we observe that when our Lord came to save us out of the world, one of the tactics he used, wasn't it, to declare the name of God. Come now, all you preachers, do you find yourself doing it? When you espy your dear younger brother Jonas, uh, Julsie, uh, Makalisky, and you say, I fear the lady is getting a little bit, um, worldly. And when you'll do see your dear sister Julsie Hephzibah Maloney, uh, you say, I fear by the color of her stockings she's getting a little bit, um, worldly, you'll see. How would you go about curing it? And if you saw yourself or any other fellow believer getting so engrossed with the present world, like Demas, that they love this present world and give up on the Lord's work. What kind of a cure would you administer? One of the things you ought to do in the situation, isn't it, if you follow the Lord's example, is to declare the name of God. You say, how will that do any good? Do be practical, Mr. Preacher. Be practical now. Give a good sermon on, on unworldliness, you know, not going to the wrong places and not doing the wrong things. Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah, but the trouble lies deeper, sir. Is there another world? And what is the God of that world like? For you see, on the one hand, you have the prince of this world, and on the other hand, God. Oh, what a wonderful thing our blessed Lord did when he came and exegete, told out the name of God, made God real. And before we move on, for I've, I've, I've fallen into the trap of preaching when I ought to have been serious, but I will say, before I move on, I want to tell you, do you see, what a God you have. Do you know what? Before the very world was formed, says scripture, we're chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. You had a past, even before you came onto this temporary planet. You had a past, you had a past in the mind of God. And already before the world was founded, God had in his sights the whole eternal purpose for which he was going to found the world. For he founded this planet simply as a stepping stone, a temporary stepping stone between the two eternities. You came into it, chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, that you should eternally be seated with Christ in the heavenly places. It's when that kind of thing gets hold of my heart, and God becomes real, and the power of the prince of this world is loosened and eventually broken. So then, um, illusions. Why do I raise it tonight? Because before we're finished... before we're finished, we shall have to exercise our skill on recognizing allusions to the Old Testament. To other small matters, question of levels of meanings. And what do I mean by that? Well, this is a question that arises very frequently when we're dealing with historical books like the Gospels. We read the stories there of what Christ did and said, all right? When he came to Jericho, there was a blind man called Bartimaeus, and he begged by the wayside, you'll see, and hearing the Lord come, he appealed to the Lord, and eventually the Lord gave him his request, and he restored the man's sight. First level of meaning, that our Lord, when he was here on earth, did a miracle. He got to blind Bartimaeus. So he did a miracle. First level of meaning. Has it got any other levels of meaning? Or is that the sum total of it? Well, uh, preachers won't have it so, will they? They will say, yes, of course it has. Um, preachers by the millions have taken the story and used it as a picture of not literal blindness, but spiritual blindness, and how even we in our day and generation can come to the Lord Jesus, and he will give us spiritual sight. Now, what about that, uh, second level of meaning? Is it legitimate? Or is it just the preacher taking opportunities that he really shouldn't, liberties that he shouldn't take? Well, we can help ourselves there, can't we, by watching what, uh, uh, our Lord does in the gospel by John. For our Lord, chapter nine in the gospel of John, finds a man who had no sight because he had no eyes. He performed a physical miracle and gave the man sight. So that was a miracle. Plain, straightforward miracle, level me- of meaning number one: It was a physical miracle in which our Lord created sight that hadn't been there before. Does it carry anything further? Yes, because at the end of that chapter, the Pharisees are heard saying to our Lord Jesus, do you see? This is the end of chapter nine. Those of the Pharisees which were with him heard these things, and they said unto him, oh, oh, thank you, young man, they said, thank you, thank you, thank you very much. So we're blind as well, are we? Oh, how nice of you. That's very good of you. And the penny had dropped in the Pharisaic brain. It took sometimes to drop, some time to drop, you know, on occasions. And they began to see that the physical miracle of giving a man physical sight when he was physically blind was meant to be more than that just one level of meaning and carried the second level of meaning. Our Lord's diagnosis of the human heart as being spiritually blind and his claim to be able to give it spiritual sight. Yes, but what do you do with other si- another sign where no application is made? There is a story at the end of the gospel, you see, the last sign of all, isn't there? Where the disciples went fishing one morning and they caught nothing, one night, and they caught nothing all night, and in the next morning there stood a man by the seashore, and he said, have you caught anything? And they said, no. So he said, cast on the right side. They cast, and they found a, a great multitude of fishes so big they numbered one hundred and fifty and three, and they brought them to land. And of course, it was the Lord standing on the shore who directed them. First level of meaning, the Lord did another miracle, or perhaps a special case of special guidance. And he guided the men when they were out fishing, do see. First level of meaning. Does it carry anything further? And if it does, how would you apply it? Is this to the effect that all fishermen at Portofoke, if they've been out all night and caught nothing, then the Lord will stand on the shore and direct them the next day if they pray hard enough? Well, hardly so. Well, what then? Has it a second level meaning? And I don't know of any preacher myself, but what would say, yes, surely it must have a second level meaning. We shall need to bear that in mind tonight when we come across the first miracle that our Lord did, the wedding in Cana of Galilee. For we shall have to ask ourselves, it was a literal miracle. When the wine ran out at the literal wedding, our Lord did a literal miracle and provided the wine. So what? What is its lesson? Have we any right to say that there is another level of meaning? Yeah. And not to tease you too far and test your patience, now let me introduce one other term, and this one is a very pleasant term. I, I, I borrow it from music. Movement. In any large work of movement, of course, there is a certain thread going right the way through from beginning to end, isn't there? But within a large work of music, there will be various movements. There will be the, uh, opening thing, you'll see. There'll be a major movement here, then presently that movement will come to an end and another theme be introduced, you'll see. It won't be altogether strange from the first theme. It probably has got the same theme but turned upside down or a major put into a minor key or something. And, uh, then there'll be a third movement, you'll see, and possibly a fourth and a fifth. And some movements are slow movements, and some movements are fast movements. And any uh, organist or pianist worth his salt can, as he reads the score, discern where the slow movement ends and the fast one begins. We hope he can anyway, because it'd sound almightily odd, wouldn't it, if the dear pianist uh, played the slow movement and uh, just tacked onto the slow movement three or four bars from the, uh, the fast movement, that would sound comical, wouldn't it? You'd need to know if you were interpreting a score of music where one movement ends and the next movement begins. And within a big section of the Gospel of John, there will be more than one movement, and discerning where one movement ends and the next begins is an important help to construing the message aright. And with those preliminaries, then, we come to our first major task this evening, to study all the material that lies between the opening John chapter one and verse one, the opening of the gospel, right down to chapter two verse eleven. Why do we take, uh, that as being one lot of material? Well, we haven't said it's one lot of material yet. We've just noticed in our previous studies that there are reasons for thinking that chapter two verse thirteen starts a journey and therefore a new section, and that journey goes all the way through to the end of chapter four. Chapter five begins a second journey, which goes through five and then six. and chapter seven starts a third journey. So the repeated idea of a journey to Jerusalem and back again forms one of the major structures of the book. If that is so, then we've got to say that the first journey begins at two thirteen. What is the earlier material doing? What's it there for? What is it? We all say the material is composed of two very different kinds, is it not? First, there is what people call the prologue, chapter one and verse one to chapter one verse eighteen. Called the prologue because it stands out different in quality from what follows. It is theological, profound theological statement about the person of our blessed Lord. Couched mostly in theological terms. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, the same as in the beginning with God. A profound theology of the person of the Lord Jesus as related to God the Father. And then, of course, uh, in relation to creation, all things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. A profound statement in regard to creation, and backed home by the observation, in him was life, and the life was the light of men. And then another profound observation involving what we call the fall. For though our blessed Lord was God, was ever with God, though he was the one through whom all was created, and in him was life, he was its source, and that life was the light of men. Something happened so that when the light shone, the darkness did not comprehend it. We call it the fall. Here then are profound theological statements, and they continue in that kind of language till you come down to verse eighteen. When you start up verse nineteen, the language changes considerably. Now it's a question of historical incident. Verse nineteen, it's John giving his testimony to the Jews. Had they nothing at all to do with each other? No linkage of thought at all? Well, of course they do have some, don't they? For this very simple matter, look at verse six of chapter one and you get, um, John. That's verse six. There came a man sent from God whose name was John. The same came for a witness, and so forth. Lower down in the prologue, look, if you please, at verse fifteen. John again. John bears witness of him and crieth, saying, This was he of whom I said, He that cometh after me is become before me, for he was before me. Two references to John in the prologue. Now what happened? Verse nineteen, um, John. Ah. And uh, John fills uh, the verses nineteen to twenty eight. And then twenty nine, verse twenty nine, on the morrow, uh, he, that is John, seeth Jesus coming to him, and he says, behold the Lamb of God, and many other wonderful things he says, concluding in verse uh, thirty four. I have seen uh, verse thirty three, uh uh, upon whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending and abiding upon him, the same is he that baptizes with the Holy Spirit, and I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God. And verse thirty five, Oh, well, it is John again. Hm. Uh, Jules say, and again on the morrow John was standing and two of his disciples, and he looked upon Jesus as he walked and says, behold the Lamb of God. So one very big topic, subject joins the two parts together, does it not? That's clear for everybody to see. Yes. And then you see, um, there's another little matter, isn't there? Um, look, if you will, at verse 29, that's this one here. It is introduced thus, on the morrow, so I put morrow here, on the morrow. That presumably is the day after this one. To say, so we're starting here, we'll call this day one, shall we? Twenty nine is the day after, on the morrow. Um, verse thirty five, again the morrow. So, you've got a link, haven't you? We've been given a time link. We're not finished with that, however. Um, uh, look, if you will, at verse forty three. Verse forty three, on the morrow. So the link, the time link is going down. And finally, in chapter two, verse one, um the third day. And now, like a set of Chinese boxes, you find if you start up here and pull one out, then you'll find John, and John will pull out John from the, from the prelude, and when John pulls out John in the prelude, John pulls out the days, and here go the days, and they go right on to the end. Begins to look, doesn't it, you'd think, as though, uh, you'll see that, um, they were connected. And then there's another way of coming at it, perhaps. Let's, uh, take a slice like the archaeologists do. They dig a trench, don't they? When they're examining, uh, um, an old, uh, mound, a till or something, uh, they take a slice down it so that they can see all the different stages down the till, right down to the bottom, hey what? And then you've got to start at the bottom and work your way up to the top, see? Well, let's take a preliminary slice down this passage of scripture and do a little, uh, expository archaeology. And if you do that, of course, you start with the beginning. In the beginning. Pray don't ask me when that was. This is the absolute beginning, whatever it was. And we are told that in the beginning the Word was, that is, he already was. We were talking about someone that is eternal, was timeless, and in the beginning he already was, in the beginning. But then, starting from verse one, look at verse three. you come down to creation. Creation. On the move, aren't you? All things were made by him, and without him was not made, was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life, uh, life was the light of men. The light shines in darkness, and the darkness comprehends it not. You've come to the The full. fall. And what now? All of a sudden comes John. What's he got to do with anything? Isn't this rather sudden? We've only got as far as the fall so far. What, what, what, what, why, why so sudden John? Well, we're continuing the theme of light, and he came to bear witness of the light that through him all men might believe. Preparatory... witness. And it's John. He was the latest and the greatest of all the prophets, whose job it was to prepare people for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ into the world. And as we're going to see later, the preparatory ministry was geared to this, that the light of creation shone, but there had come a fall, and the world didn't take it in. Something had to be done, therefore, about this inability of the world to take in the light of the Creator. And God's mercy was to send John, as well as the other prophets, but finally John, to bear witness that this light was now coming into the world. Josie. And come down to verse ten, he was in the world. They've got as far now as the first coming then. And look at verse, uh, fourteen, the world, the Word became flesh. That's the incarnation, isn't it? The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. There is his incarnation, conceived and born of the Virgin, and now he dwelt among us as in a tent, and we saw his glory. It is the incarnation plus the life. Now notice a very interesting thing. When the Pharisees come to John Baptist inquiring who he is, they say, are you Elijah? And he says, no. They say, are you a Christ? No. Are you the prophet? No. Well, who are you? And he says, I'm the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Well, they say, why, if you're not the Christ then, neither nor the prophet nor Elijah, why do you baptize? What authority have you got? And John answered him saying, verse twenty six, I baptize with water, in the midst of you standeth one whom you know not, this is he that baptizes with the Holy Spirit. Now, you weren't looking, of course. Doesn't say anything of the sort. Not there, does it? You look at the text. It will say, John answered them saying, verse twenty six, I baptize you with water, in the midst of you standeth one whom you know not, even he that cometh after me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethany beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. So he didn't make any mention of the Holy Spirit at that juncture. You say, why is that important or significant? Well, look what he says next. Verse twenty nine, on the morrow he sees Jesus coming and he says, behold the lamb of God. And whatever John meant by that, we who read it will see there in definite, uh, reference, of course, to Calvary, won't we? It was only after that, look at verse, uh, that, look at verse thirty three, that John came round to saying that about the Holy Spirit. I knew him not, but he that sent me to baptize with water, he said unto me, upon whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending and abiding upon him, the same is he that baptizeth with the Holy Spirit, or in the Holy Spirit. Baptism then, in Holy Spirit. Let's pause there and look at it. As we have taken our slice down the material, what we have in fact come across is a chronological sequence that is uninterrupted and perfect, of course. Starting in the remote and absolute beginning where the Word already was, and coming down into time with the creation of the universe and the creation of time, and coming on to the fall, and then coming on to the great age of the prophets, all the prophets, of course, and finally John, who was sent to prepare men's minds for the first coming of our Lord. He was in the world and for his incarnation. And then the incarnation and the glory of that life beheld by the apostles, and now, if you please, and this now becomes a prophecy, for when John said it, it hadn't yet happened, but John is now beginning to prophesy what is going to happen. And seeing Jesus coming to him, he says, behold the Lamb of God who will take away the sin of the world. That, ladies and gentlemen, is a prophecy, as you'll see, of something that is going to happen. And so is this next one, isn't it? This is he who baptizes with the, in the Holy Spirit. And when did this? The Acts of the Apostles tells us exactly it happened on the day of Pentecost, John's promise being fulfilled. Isn't it interesting that John the Baptist didn't put the baptism in the Holy Spirit here, he put it here. The sequence, therefore, is unspoiled. And when you start seeing that, you say to yourself all sorts of naughty things, don't you? Oh, you say, well, half a minute, Mr. Preacher. Um, well, if that's an ordered chronological sequence, down to there, and you've just told us that these are time sequences on, wait a minute, Mr. Preacher, you're not going to say, are you, that the other stories are part of that sequence that are going to carry the story on beyond, uh, Pentecost. You say you can't be going to say that because, I mean, that would be fanciful, wouldn't it? Terrible fanciful that would be. I mean, what happened after this were stories of people who got converted, uh, when the Lord was still here on earth. So, I mean, that's all they are, and there's only one level of meaning to any one story, isn't there? Or is there more than one level? Well, yeah. Could be there's more than one level, isn't there? And it might even be that now what follows, while they are historical incidents, are foreshadowings of future things. But before we jump to that, and just in case we should be being, uh, fanciful, you see, and that we mustn't be, for it's cardinal not a sin, you'll say number two. there is a more serious sin, but this is the second one. Uh, you'll say, let's wipe all this off and start to look at the movements of thought in the prologue and then in the prelude to the gospel. If you want to stand up, uh, and ease your anatomy while I'm rubbing the board, feel free. So now we're going to think about movements of thought. And the question is, where does the first movement end in this marvelous and delightful passage of God's word? So we begin, and I call this one, and let's call it one one. In the beginning. In the beginning. five things are said, and we haven't the time to expound them tonight, but five things are said at that particular point. One, in the beginning was the Word. The Word already was, that's his pre-existence, and the Word was with God, that is in fellowship with God. God is not a monolith. There was the Word and there was God. At the same time, the Word was God. Julesy. Doesn't say God was the Word, for God is more than the Word. God is the Father, and God is the Holy Spirit, as well as God the Son. But it is true to say that the Word was God. What God was, the Word was. Point two: The same was in the beginning with God. Why add that? Why? Because if John hadn't added that second point, there could have been a doubt. He said, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And some might have said, yes, but between one and two, um, he became God. He wasn't God all the time. Or between two and three, the Word was with God, and it was only subsequently that the Word was God. No, says John, don't you fall into that trap. The same was in the beginning with God. All these things were true of him right from the very beginning. He existed, he was with God, and he was God. And that all three of them right from the beginning. Good. All things were made by him, and without him was nothing made that is made. There are not various, um, uh, agencies of creation. He did it all. That is exceedingly important, and those of you who come across the people that preach the New Age movement nowadays, of course, will realize at once the importance of this statement. The ancient world thought that God, the supreme God, was too wonderful, too holy, too pure to bother himself with that, with creating anything. Left to himself, he wouldn't have done it. It was only that there were lesser beings under God, and they shared God's creative power, but not altogether his sense and holiness. And one of the lesser beings under God went and created this material world. You'll see. That is Hinduism, that is New Age movement, that is Neoplatonism, and a lot of other ills that have from time to time afflicted, afflicted humanity and are in danger of, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, coming into the church. No, our Lord is the sole agent of creation. All things were made through him, and without him was nothing made that was made. In him was life, the third point. A fourth point, I mean. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. Pray let's be strict, therefore, in interpreting in its context. The life was the light of men. If we're not careful, we shall say, ah yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, uh, he made all the worlds, you see, and in addition to that, his spiritual life, uh, illumines everybody who receives it. And that is perfectly true. It's not what this verse is saying. We must adhere to context. The context is talking about creation. All things were made by him. Without him, nothing made that was made. In him was life. What is the point of saying that? You'll see. Well, you will consider what a marvelous universe this is, is it not? Even the little bit that we see of it. How boundless the life. What? Giraffes, swallows, you'll see donkeys, human beings, uh, whales, uh, butterflies and angels. Magnificent, isn't it? All the array of life. So where did he get the life from? Where did he get the stuff from to make it? Didn't get it from anywhere. He is the source. In him was life. And then John adds profoundly, that life was the light of men. What sense do you mean it? How is all the teeming created life in this universe the light of men? Why, in a very simple fashion. My good sir, if you're walking up a quiet, quiet country road outside the metropolis of Cullybacky one of these nights, you'll see, and you've got beyond the city lights into the dark, and you're walking with a friend, you'll see, and as you go down this pitch black, uh, uh, road, suddenly a beam of light comes shooting through the hedge, right across your path. You will say, hmm, where does that come from? Won't you? And if your friend should reply, what are you talking about? Don't be so nonsensical. It doesn't come from anywhere. It's your turn to call him an a fool, isn't it? Doesn't come from anywhere. That is an impossible notion. We know instinctively that light comes from some source. And the life was the light. We are surrounded on every side of us with every conceivable kind of life. And the question that forces itself on the thinking mind is, where does life come from? For if we don't know where it comes from, we shall not be able to answer the question, what is life for? If you deny its source, then you'll be left in darkness, will you not? As you see our atheist friends are. They will tell you that there is no God, there is no source. Life is just the chance production of mindless forces working on mindless matters without any purpose, without any goal. And ultimately, therefore, there is no ultimate purpose in life. So, the light of the universe shines in the darkness of men that have banished the idea of creator from their heads and from their hearts. But the light shines in darkness, and the darkness does not apprehend it. What will God do about that? Is that the end of the movement then? That's the end of that topic. No, it's not the end of the topic about the light. Dear me, no, we're going to hear more about the light. What will God do about the fact that darkness has intervened? Will you say he will send the light into the world? That's what number three is going to say. He was in the world. So God's purpose then, because of the fall, that men no longer could perceive the light. God's answer to that would be to send the light into the world. But before he did so, number two, there came a man sent from Jo- God whose name was John. But now, who was he? He came to bear witness of the light that all men through him believe. He was not that light. So we questioned que- que- uh, John's identity and John's function. He wasn't the light himself. His function was to bear witness of the light. Now look how verse nine describes the true light. There was the true light coming into the world. That's a difficult sentence in Greek, but its major drift is this. The true light, which lightens every man, was in process of coming into the world. And because God had in mind the sending of his son into the world, the true light, he sent John in advance to prepare the way of the true light to come into the world, that men might have a chance of seeing, therefore. The third section tells us, the third point of the movement was he was in the world. And the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came to his own, and his own received him not, but as many as received him, he gave authority to become children of God. So let's ponder that. And now watch how the whole movement is beginning to knit itself together. He was in the world, the world was made by him. Do you see it? All things were made by him. Then the darkness came. So it was God's purpose to send him into the light. God prepared the way. And at last the light, the true light, was in the world, and tragedy, the world was made, look at the thing. The world was made by him, and the world knew him not. Deeper tragedy still, he came to his own, that is the Jewish people, who had benefited from centuries of God's revelation to them. He came to his own people, the Jew, and those that were his own received him not. But now comes the tremendous climax of the movement. But to those who did receive him, to them he gave authority to become children of God. They're born not of the will of man, nor the flesh, but of God. Now, where have we got to? Well, we've got here to the new birth. And And you you can afford to stop there for a moment. Let's do that. Fold our spiritual arms and think once more about a, a tremendous m- marvel and a mystery. This is the story of the word to make God known. And how he made a delightful universe, teeming with life of every kind, and of course us with human life in it, made in the very image of God. And through the work of the enemy, there intervened the fall, as man rejected the word of God and wouldn't listen and went and fell to Satan's lie. And God could have, with his little finger, sponged the whole thing out and started again, couldn't he? I would have done it, I fancy you would. But not God. God's reaction to the darkness was to determine to send the light then into the world, and it took all those centuries preparing for it, and at last John making as sure as God can make sure that people would have a chance of seeing the light and believing the light. All praise God for his mercy. The danger was that the light would come into the world, and all too sudden, and men unaccustomed to it would find the light hurt their eyes and reject it. And God, in his mercy, had long centuries of preparation for the coming of the light into the world, and at last there came John Baptist, you'll see. And when the preparation was done, the light came into the world, and tragedy, the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. Came to his own, and they that were his own received him not, and says God, well, that's hopeless. My son, you better come back to heaven. No, God isn't so easily defeated. Uh, I say it with all reverence, the creator had something else up his sleeve. Of course he did. And if creation had gone wrong, God wouldn't just put creation right, he'd have something better still. I like that bit. To those that did receive him, he gave authority to become children of God. And though you know it well, and you've preached it ten thousand times, I reminded of you that your heart might burn within you at the glory of this elementary thing. The difference between being made by God as a creature and being begotten by God as a father. The famous C. S. Lewis used to illustrate it, didn't he, with the idea of a carpenter. A carpenter, very good carpenter, he makes a chair, and as you look at the chair with all its beautiful carving and its design, you'll see, or its Scandinavian bareness, whichever it has, do you see? They cost more if they're bare. Uh, you'll see. As you look at the chair, uh, do you see, you can see, yes, I see something of the carpenter in that chair, you know. Put his very heart and soul into the making of it. It reflects his sense of style, actually, that chair does. Yes, made by the carpenter. Presently, the carpenter falls in love, as some carpenters do, and, uh, do you see, uh, presently he has a son, a child, and the learned C. S. Lewis bade us consider what is the difference between, uh, the chair and a child. When the child is first born, it's a horrible looking thing, you'll see. If one were allowed to be honest on first meeting them, you'd say so, but you're not allowed, of course, to be honest. There are, I don't know, a few inches of crinkled up noses and doing unmentionable things at both ends, and until they, hmm, ha, who wouldn't prefer the chair with all his dignity fit for the queen to sit upon? But only a fool would, surely, for between that child and that chair, there's an absolutely unbridgeable gulf. The carpenter made the chair, didn't make the child, he beget it. And this first movement, get ready to say hallelujah. This first movement is a marvel of God's self-revelation through the word. He made a whole universe fit to make you wonder in all its awesome grandeur, and the light of it should have been the light that led you to him, and when men in their folly rejected it, instead of destroying the lot, God came up with his next scheme, and he sent the light into the world, and when they still rejected him, oh mercy upon mercy, God revealed his magnificent plan, which all the while had been that having made temporary creatures, he should make it possible for them to become children of God. All my brothers, I must do my sisters with you as John did long ago. Behold, my brothers, my sisters, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on you, that you should be called not creatures of God made on earth, like we get the second race things made in China, uh, made on earth, but begotten out of God himself. That we should be called children of God, and that we are. Oh, that's magnificent, isn't it? Mm. And we've got to the end of a movement. As you can see that, and you can't beat that climax, can you? You've got from creation down to, um, you've got from creation down to the new birth, what God does with creatures that accept his son. And the glory is that he who made all things has authority to give you permission to become children of God. You will have noticed that there is a certain difficulty in the prologue for the theologians, and that is the incarnation appears to be mentioned twice. Mm, doesn't it? Because it's mentioned in verse, uh, uh, 10, he was in the world. You see, he was in the world, though the fact that he was made flesh is not mentioned there. It was irrelevant. Do you see? John was hastening on to tell us that when the light came into the world, then those that received him, he gave them the authority to become children of God as distinct from simply creatures. But there's the first coming, number three. Now you've got a statement of the first coming in somewhat different terms. This is strictly so-called the incarnation, you'll see. That is from verses fourteen down to n- uh, eighteen, is it not? Fourteen to eighteen. Ha, and I like this. You'll see. Let me put it up here. Here it said that in the beginning, the Word was... the Word was with God. This one is going to tell another story. The Word Dwelled dwelled. among us. Oh, that's good, isn't it? This is going to begin the story now of the incarnation father. And John uses a term eskenosen, uh, that in Greek reminds you of the noun a tent or a tabernacle. The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, lived in a tent of a human body, and we beheld his glory, says John. And they who know that Old Testament will say that's Exodus all over again, won't they, Wato? For if Genesis tells us of a God who created the world, Exodus tells us of that second great marvel, that on Mount Sinai God said, now, if you'll have it and keep my covenant, I tell you what, I tell you what you could do. Uh, Moses, go and tell the people that if they are in the mind, they could bring me gold and silver and wood and so forth, and make me a sanctuary, and I would, uh, live in a tent among them. And so that's what they did eventually. And they made the tent. And when they made the tent, the glory of God descended upon that very tent, and God dwelled among them and walked with them through the wilderness. Prototype, model for thinking, drawn from Exodus, of course. The word became fresh, and he tabernacled among us, and says John, you can hear the excitement of it, can't you? As John, so to speak, lifted the curtains of the tabernacle now and again, perhaps when he shouldn't, and looked inside, and we beheld his glory, glory as of an only begotten with the Father, full of grace and truth. Yes. So it's the incarnation and the life. And five things are said, the word, uh, dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. And then, oh, here comes John. And John said, this is he of whom I spoke, who that comes after me was preferred before me. John talks about his pre-existence. For he was before me. And then the writer goes on and says, of his fullness we have received, and grace upon grace. For the law was given via Moses. No one has seen God... at any time. The only begotten Son who's in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him. And you will notice, ladies and gentlemen, how very, very carefully this part of God's word is written. Do you see that? That is what they would call a symmetry, of course. The word was made flesh, and we saw his glory, glorious as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. See it being picked up here? And of his fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. We beheld his glory. Oh, but no man has seen God at any time, the only begotten Son who's in the bosom of the Father. He hath declared him to us. And then in the middle bits, a reference to John, and then a reference to Moses. And they're not just repet- re- repetitions, are they? For the contrast that John makes is that our Lord, who historically came after John, was in fact before him. John is talking about the Lord's pre-existence. The man of Nazareth existed before. When you come to Moses, it's not our Lord's pre-existence, it's his superiority, isn't it? The law was given by Moses. Thank God for his law, for it was holy, just, and good. But how supre- how superior is the grace that came through Jesus Christ. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, superior to Moses, pre-existent to John, superior to Moses. The full teller out of the Father, the full teller out of the Father, yes. That is what our Lord was in his life. We push on. Number 2. And number two is... Oh, it's about John. And the Pharisees came and said, and questioned him about his identity. Didn't they? They said, are you the Christ? And he said, no. Oh. Oh, well, are you Elijah then? He said, no. Oh. Um, well, are you the prophet then? No, not that either. Well, who on earth are you, they said. He said, I'm the voice of one crying in the wilderness. They asked him about his identity. Are you the Christ, query Christ, uh, Elijah, or the prophet? What did they mean? Well, the Old Testament prophesied the coming of a Messiah. Malachi, last chapter, prophesied that before the great and notable day, God would send Elijah. Moses had prophesied, a prophet will the Lord your God raise up unto you like unto me. And the Jews of the time thought that these were possibly three different persons. And they asked John, are you Christ? He said, no. Well, then are you that Elijah of Malachi? No. Are you the prophet? No. The prophet like Moses. Well, then who are you? And he said, I am the voice of one. His function. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord. That's interesting. You'll say, let's make room for this here. He. He was not that light. And then they said to John, are you the Christ, Elijah, or the prophet? He said, no. It's getting very simple, isn't it? It will get simpler as you go along. You'll see, you'll see how the lesson is repeating itself, don't you what? His func- i- identity and his function, and he was the voice in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, the preparatory ministry of John. If you can endure two or three more minutes, then we'll take a break for our coffee. And what is three? John seeth the Lord Jesus coming to him, and he said, behold the Lamb of God, who takes away sin of world. You pick up the correspondences, do you? He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. And this is saying, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The world was made by him, and the world knew him not. Now listen to John. He says, this is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, and I knew him not. You got that? The world knew him not. Now John is saying, I knew him not. Well, come, come, John, what are you saying? Weren't you related to him somehow by birth? And surely Mary, uh, and Elizabeth, your mother, told you about Jesus and all the wonderful prophecies that had been made about Jesus. How can you stand there, John, and say you didn't know him? Ah, well, you see, uh, two sides to that, aren't there? You'll see. John was now speaking as the authoritative, uh, forerunner of the Lord Jesus. And when the world came to John and says, how do you know that this is, this Jesus is the Messiah, the Lamb of God? John can't turn around, no, my mother told me. Wouldn't do, would it? Incidentally, why do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God? Mother told me. His mother told him, he says, you see. That is a very good reason for believing, I expect we all started there. It won't quite be enough if you are lecturing to three hundred atheists. Officially then, John being asked, how do you know? Well, now officially, it's like Margaret Thatcher, you know, says some things that she knows, but she doesn't know. Uh, you'll see. Officially, he says, well, I didn't know him, but he who sent me to baptize said, upon whomsoever thou shalt see the Holy Spirit descending in form of a dove, this is he that baptizes with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and I'm bearing your test- my testimony. I saw the Spirit descend on him like a dove. That's how John knew officially, by the coming of the Holy Spirit on the blessed Lord Jesus at his baptism. And then he issued the prophecy, this is he who baptizes in Holy Spirit. The two great sides of salvation, aren't they? The Lamb of God who died to take away our guilt and our sin. The blessed Lord who rose the third day and ascended to glory, and on the day of Pentecost sent forth the Holy Spirit to baptize his people in the Holy Spirit. The climax of this first movement made, the world was made by him but didn't know him, but as many as received him, he gave them authority to become children of God who were born, begotten, if you like, of God. Contrast between being made as a creature and born as a child. It started with the beginning of the world and its making, and ends up with the new birth. And this one begins with that lovely life. Earth had never seen anything like it. The Word incarnate, and we saw his glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. And John once more was sent to witness and prepare the way. And look what a wonderful thing he does now. It's not now rebirth. What is it? It is regeneration, and then, oh, how shall I find words to describe this? For this is a breathtaking thing. This lovely life, all think of it. World, the world has never seen anything like it. In a human tabernacle, in a body of flesh and blood, the very glory of the uncreated God was seen in that human life. You say there'll be never anything like it again, and in a sense you're true, and in a sense you're wrong. I don't know if you can take it in, but God is not content with that Christ. This Christ was not only given to take away the sin of the world, he it is who baptizes his people in the Holy Spirit. John says, I baptize you with water. He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Have you got that distinction? This one was between being made and being born as a child of God. This one is being baptized in water, but being baptized in the Holy Spirit, in one spirit, we were all baptized into one body to form the body of Christ. Good, isn't it? And by this stage, we've reached another climax in the movements. Wiggle how we went ca- w- how we will, you know, you can't get out of the difficult bits. What are we going to say? What are we going to say? Oh dear. What are we going to say of those, um, other three stories? Well, perhaps had nothing to do with it. But it would be worthwhile thinking a little about it while you have your coffee, wouldn't it? And so I cease.