November 9, 2003 John 5:19-24
Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. 24 “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. (Jn 5:19-24)
Who would you say are the most powerful people in America? There are a couple different ways you could go with that. Some might go with politicians, military generals, sports or Hollywood icons, or others might go to the drug lords. It’s debatable. But when push comes to shove, in my mind the most powerful people - or most influencial people in America at least - would be the judges. The judges in the Supreme Court are the ones who in an indirect way made the decision for who would be president of the United States. So who really has the most power? Just ask Kobe Bryant about now - and even he - a powerful sports star - would have to admit that his future all comes down to the way the judge handles his case.
Even more important than America’s judges, is the judge of the world - the One who will decide your eternal fate. What a comfort it is on this Last Judgment Sunday then, to know that -
Jesus is the Father’s Judge and Your’s as Well
I. He does what the Father does
Since judges are so important, politicians realize that those who are appointed as judges are some of the most important nominations there are. Some of the greatest wranglings in recent months has been over the nomination of judges - in whether they will support what their ideals are - abortion or right to life, gay rights, and other hot topics of the day. Each special interest group has a reason for promoting their judges - because they want ones that have the same IDEALS as them.
Jesus had the same ideals as His Father. Jesus said in today’s text, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Jesus said, “I can only do what I SEE my Father doing.” When Adam and Eve fell into sin, the Bible says that their eyes were “opened” - opened to see that they were naked - open to see their sin - to experience what it’s like to live apart from God - but with their “open” eyes they also had closed them to what God wanted and so they couldn’t see what God’s will was for them. When an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city where Elisha was, his servant became scared. But what did Elisha say? “O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Ki 6:17) Elisha had the ability to see things his servant couldn’t see. JESUS also said he could “see” what his Father was doing. Being a perfect human, he could “see” exactly what his Father wanted Him to do and could go where His Father wanted Him to go. Even in His humility, Jesus knew that God wanted Him to go to one place. It wasn’t to a plush throne. It wasn’t to a popular golden palace. It was to a despised and painful wooden cross. He wanted Jesus to go into the depths of hell - to suffer the wrath and anger of the same Father who was so pleased with Him.
The Father loved the Son for the way in which Jesus obeyed His Father. That word for love is different from the word He uses for love with us. It’s called phileo - not agape. He loved His Son like a brother - and He had every reason to - because He and his Son were on the same page. He never had to say, “HEY, where are you going - I told you to go over there!” Jesus was an obedient Son. He acts like God. That’s a good thing.
You would think people would praise Jesus for this. But it’s this very concept that is absolutely despised by today’s society. We praise in our society what we call “free thinkers” and independants. This individualism makes people think that it’s praiseworthy to develop your own concepts on what is right and wrong - on what is true and what isn’t. If I believe what my parents and pastors told me God’s Word says, then I am despised in today’s society as a “robot” or “close minded.” The very idea of submitting your reason or faith to what God’s Word says is thought of as a caveman way of thinking.
This is a result of Adam and Eve’s fall - the very temptation they fell into - to think and say “I’m going to do my own thing! I don’t care what you tell me.” Look where it’s led us - into a society of people with sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted children, unchained violence and vulgarity. We let them same attitude come into our thinking, and God doesn’t like it. When you plan your finances around what YOU want and never ask, “what does God want,” that’s a sinful and selfish individual thought. When you have an attitude that says, “I don’t care what Pastor or my parents tell me I should be doing, I’m going to do it my way,” it’s a despising of God’s called servants. If you say, “I know I should go to Bible class,” but you don’t - what is it but a sinful individualistic attitude? God didn’t call you to do what you wanted, He called you to do what HE wants. We don’t live in a democracy. We live in a theocracy - God rules. That’s the way He designed us - but a part of us hates it.
II. What Jesus the Judge does and will do
Jesus did what the Father wanted Him to. But Jesus isn’t done doing the Father’s will. What did John say that Jesus is going to do yet? 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son. God has entrusted the Son with two of the most important things in the world. The Son has the power of giving life and the Son is going to judge the world.
Think about how those two concepts - the power of life and judgment have shaped our world. Think of the Terry Schiavo case. Her life right now rests in the hands of the judge and the Supreme Court. She is completely helpless and at the mercy of two different groups - one that wants to pull her feeding tubes and let her starve, and one that wants to keep the feeding tube in and continue to serve her. Whatever position you hold on that, her life is dependant on the judgment of the judge. The judgment that is made will be very important - because if the wrong judgment is made, it could mean that when you get old and seemingly “useless” to the world, the government could end up deciding to pull your plug or even worse, put you to death because of your “drain on society. It’s just like when Solomon had two women fighting over whose baby was whose. He held the life and future of that baby in his hands. What a weighty responsibility that is to have! That’s why the position of judge is just so important. You don’t want some idiot making a judgment who doesn’t know or care about the law. You don’t want someone who doesn’t care about people. You want someone who is smart, caring, and wise enough to know how to make decisions based on what God says is right and wrong.
God chose Jesus to give life to the world. When you have a sick and dying child, and place him or her in the hands of a doctor to bring life and health back into him or her, what an awesome responsibility that is. That’s what God did with Jesus when He sent Him to live and die for the world. He trusted Jesus to live a perfect life that we were supposed to - and to suffer the death that God’s law had placed on our heads. He knew that we weren’t living the trusting life that God wanted Him to, so He entrusted our very salvation - our souls - on the life and death of Christ. Jesus fulfilled God’s mission. When He died He was able to say, “it is finished.” When Jesus rose from the dead, God declared, “the world is now alive!” Jesus had lived that perfect life, and paid for our hell - He finished that mission. But His mission still isn’t done.
God also chose Jesus to be the judge of the world. It says that He has entrusted ALL judgment to the Son. The future of your world, your self, your life or your death ultimately rests in Jesus’ decision. We live in a world that says, “you can’t judge me.” Nobody wants to be held accountable to God or anyone else. Yet we also live in a world that loves to judge God and ask, “why are you doing this?” When the Twin Towers fell, Billy Graham’s daughter was asked, “how could a loving God allow this?” The world wants to be the judge. We want God to hear what we think about him. We want to stand up and throw God down from the Judge’s seat and tell him how to run the world, and a part of us gets angry when anybody tells us as “grown adults” that we’re “sinning.”
But here’s news for you. When Judgment Day comes - which it is - you won’t be judged on what YOU think of you, but on what Christ thinks of you. If He wants to raise you to eternal heaven, that’s up to Him. If He decides to condemn you to hell, He can do that as well. God has given all judgment to the Son - all of the world’s fate - no matter who you are - a king or a beggar - from Jesus’ time, Sodom and Gomorrah’s, or the 21st Century - everyone’s fate will be decided on what factor. What does Jesus think of YOU? Like Terry Schiavo’s fate is dependant on the judges, so we are helplessly dependant on what Jesus thinks of us.
Now, you can try to boycott this decision of God’s. You can argue all you want about fairness and everything else that comes to mind. You can accuse God of being unfair. But that won’t take Christ down from His throne. The decision has already been made. Jesus has been given the most powerful and influential position - the most awesome and and important responsibility in the world - to judge it. Jesus will decide whether you go to heaven or hell eternally. That’s what God’s Word says. Whether you believe it or not, it’s true.
III. What we do because of that
When you are standing before a judge, and you know he has the power to condemn you or acquit you - it is a humbling experience. The last thing you would want to do would be to fall asleep while he was talking to you. You’d want to show respect. You’d want to listen carefully to all he had to say. That is a natural result and purpose in why God gave Jesus this awesome responsibility to judge the world. That all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. God wanted Jesus to be honored just as He was.
How do you ultimately honor Jesus? He says how - “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. (Jn 5:19-24) Jesus said to “believe him who sent me.” What did the Father - who sent Jesus - tell the crowds? “This is MY SON, with whom I am WELL PLEASED, LISTEN to HIM!” God the Father claimed that Jesus was actually His Son - that was living a life that the Father was pleased with. He proclaimed that as His Son He was also God’s prophet - so that whatever Jesus said about Himself and the Father was true. Jesus said some awesome statements about Himself. He said that he was God made flesh. He said that He had come to give His life as a ransom for many - to live and die for the sins of the world. Think about the awesome statements that Jesus made about Himself. The Judge was once the Substitute - the guy on trial. The judge was once the accused. The Judge had once been sentenced to death and hell on the cross, as the substitute for the world. The Judge also rose from the dead - and went from being the worse sinner in the world - the world - to having saved the world through His life and death and resurrection. Now this same Person was made the Judge of the world.
So what does this Judge use as the ultimate reason as to whether you should live or die - go to heaven eternally or hell eternally? His verdict is based on one simple thing. Whoever believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned. It all comes down to faith - the greatest honor there is. Do you believe what Jesus says about Himself? Why is faith so important - all important? Martin Luther explained it well in his book - The Freedom of the Christian -
The very highest worship of God is this that we ascribe to him truthfulness, righteousness, and whatever else should be ascribed to one who is trusted. When this is done, the soul consents to his will. Then it hallows his name and allows itself to be treated according to God’s good pleasure for, clinging to God’s promises, it does not doubt that he who is true, just, and wise will do, dispose, and provide all things well. . . . On the other hand, what greater rebellion against God, what greater wickedness, what greater contempt of God is there than not believing his promise? For what is this but to make God a liar or to doubt that he is truthful?—that is, to ascribe truthfulness to one’s self but lying and vanity to God? Luther, M. (Vol. 31, Page 350-351)
If God says I’m holy, He wants me to believe it. If He says His Son led a perfect life as my substitute, He wants me to trust in what He is saying. If He wants me to be saved by faith and not works, then that’s the way it is. In Colorado there is a bridge called the Royal Gorge bridge. It stands high over a Gorge that descends hundreds to thousands of feet below. Over this canyon there is also a single wire with a trolley attached to it that is able to carry several dozen people to the other side. Imagine if there were a fire on one side of the canyon - coming toward the edge - and the only way to get to the other side was that trolley. It is scary to ride on that trolley. Some people might be afraid it would fall. But there would be others who would urge those on the burning side to cross on over. Jesus is just like that trolley. He tells us that He is the only way to cross over and avoid the fires of hell. He urges us to trust in what HE did for salvation - not to try to build our own trolley. There isn’t enough time and we don’t have the materials. When we listen to the Father and the Holy Spirit gives us faith - we are brought to faith in Christ. Even though we are scared to death and don’t want to trust what Jesus is saying to us, the sweet words of the Gospel enters our hearts and the Holy Spirit moves our hearts and our legs so that we get on that trolley. That very moment that the Holy Spirit draws us into the trolley of Christ, we are brought from death to life - even though the fire hasn’t reached us yet. whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. Faith is a matter of trusting in Jesus to bring you to life. Believing what He says He did and He is is true. This is what Jesus, the Judge, uses as the basis of His judgment. He won’t change His mind.
When a judge comes into a courtroom, the guard in the room proclaims, “all rise.” I’ve never been on trial, but I imagine it’s a nervous moment - no matter whether you’re guilty or not - because you just don’t know what the judge is thinking. When Jesus comes, the sheer majesty will cause every knee to bow before Him. Whether you want Him to come or not, He is coming. The Father has chosen Him. It’s scary to think about such an awesome event coming soon - where a Judge comes to either condemn you to hell or take you to heaven. But think about who this Judge is. He isn’t a rogue. He isn’t someone who likes injustice or doesn’t know what He’s doing. He’s a judge who cared for the deaf, the blind, the sinners, the poor, the rich, and all people. He isn’t someone who is just above us - but someone who is also One of us. He’s a judge who was once on trial before God - who has already paid our fine by dying for us one the cross. He’s a Judge who is ALSO our defense attorney! He’s a Judge who demands nothing of us for salvation - but gives us everything - free of charge. He’s a Judge who already earned you a verdict of not guilty when He rose from the dead. He says your judgment is based on faith in Him. This Judge is coming. He’s not someone we need to be afraid of. He’s someone who is both merciful and just. Therefore, as scary as it may be, we look forward to His coming and even pray for it. Amen.
