Matthew 4:12 part 4

Matthew 4:12 part 4 

God So Loved The World

John 3:13-21

Nicodemus was a Pharisaic Jewish member of the Sanhedrin, and a teacher of the people. He met with Jesus one evening because he had heard Jesus speak and had seen him perform miracles. During the visit, Nicodemus proclaimed to Jesus that he was convinced that Jesus was a man of God. Jesus’ Jesus told him, that no one can see the kingdom of God without being born in a new way. It was one of the most remarkable conversations in the whole New Testament because in 25 words the Lord gave us His heart, His plan for salvation, and His desire for our life. John 3:16 is the basis for the whole of Christianity.

Nicodemus Visits Jesus continued

1. (John 3:13) Only someone who was with GOD, could ever come from GOD

No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven

1. Yet, at the time Jesus walked with the disciples, the Jews spread stories around that some OT saints ascended into heaven, received special insight from God, then descended back to earth to share the knowledge they gained with others. This was false, but this is what Jesus was alluding to with this phrase, because then they would understand. Most of these stories were centered around Moses, but here we are told by Jesus Himself, that only the Son of Man has authority to speak of heavenly things because he has been there. Thus the lesson is that only from heaven is where we can receive true wisdom.

His home was heaven and will be again. He has “Inherently the fullness of heavenly knowledge.” 

(Proverbs 30:4) 

2. Ascended to Heaven (Only two people have gone to heaven without dying and they have yet to return)

1. Enoch (Genesis 5:24)

2. Elijah (Hebrews 11:5 and 2 Kings 2:11)

3. Some believe they will be the two witnesses of Revelation chapter 11 

1. All men are to die once and these men have yet to die (Hebrews 9:27 and 1 Corinthians 15:22)

3. He who came down from Heaven (John 6:46 and Proverbs 30:4)

1. The Son of Man who is “in” heaven (no contradiction here) 

1. Christ is God

1. We know from (Isaiah 43:11; 43:25 and Mark 2:5; 2:7) that only God can forgive sins

2. But we see in (Mark 2:10-12 )that Jesus forgave a man for his sins

2. Christ is man 

1. A reference to his humanity (Philippians 2:6-8)

2. As a human he become the Kinsman –Redeemer (or a blood relative) to release us from the bondage of sin

2. “In” while He is with them, He is also in heaven as two thirds of the Triune–God

1. Jesus was in heaven and sent by His Father to give life where there was only death (John 6:33-35 and Colossians 2:12-14 and Romans 8:10)

2. (John 3:14) Jesus must be Crucified

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up

1. Moses made a bronze serpent to ward off death (Numbers 21:5-9)

2. The cure was similar to what caused the pain and death, a fiery snake.

1. It was the image of the snake that poisoned them

3. Christ became flesh because our flesh is what causes us to sin and die (Philippians 2:6-8)

1. Jesus became sin, HE took on all our sin and died with it (2 Corinthians 5:21)

4. He’s saying, “Look to Me and you will be born again.” It’s so simple. (1 Corinthians 1:27)

3. (John 15-16) We just need to believe in HIM

“that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”.

1. In these words Christ communicates the Fathers heart, the Fathers plan, and His will……

1. His heart: He loved the world (Hell was not made for man but for Satan and his (Matthew 25:41)

2. His plan: He gave His only begotten Son

3. His will: Whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (1 John 5:10-12)

2. We read that the word was God, with God, and in Him is life. (John 1:1-5)

“Life resides in the Word, in Him was life”

(John 1:4)

1. The eternal life begun by the new birth is nothing less than the eternal life of the eternal Word. And the way we receive this eternal life is to look upon him who was lifted up for our sins.

1. The expression “eternal life” makes its first appearance here in John's Gospel

1. Eternal life properly stated, means “life of the age to come” or (resurrection of life)

It’s like a man going through life living for what he can achieve before he dies. Along that way he sinks into quicksand (Troubles). As he slowly sinks into the mire, he is visited by many prophets who have much wisdom for him. Yet only one of these prophets has the solution to his problems. Will you choose the right one, or continue following false teachers while sinking in the quicksand?

1. Confucius comes by and tells you, 

“It is evident you should avoid such situations.” And continues on his way leaving you in the quicksand to get on your own.

2. Mohammed comes by and says,

 “Alas, it is the will of Allah.” And he goes on his way leaving you in your misery.

3. Buddha stops by, observes the situation for a moment, then says,

 “Let your dilemma be a lesson for others.” And then goes on his way leaving you to slowly sink further into the quagmire of your dilemma.

4. Krishna casually walked by telling say, 

“Better luck next time.” As he continues walking on his way as all the other false prophets did leaving you to die. 

5. Then JESUS comes by,

HE reaches out his hand to you, pulls you from the quicksand you willingly walked into, and explains to you why you ended up there and then offers you a choice between a path with no quicksand, or a path that is filled with many quicksand traps.

While false prophets tell us we must work to reach heaven or utopia, God alone, reached down into this septic tank, we call earth, and pulled us out of the quicksand we willingly walk into everyday. No cute little spiritual sayings we must repeat over and over for clarity, no mountain to climb for spiritual awareness, no bombs to strap onto our children. No… Christianity is the only Religion whose God was humiliated and tortured before he died for crimes we committed. It is our crimes he died for so that all we need is to look up to Him on that cross. The purpose of Him sending His Son was singular, to save us.

3. John eventually builds on the theme of the love relationships between the Father, the Son of God and the disciples. Thus we have what is popularly called the Gospel of Love

1. The Father loves the Son; (John 3:35; 5:20; 10;17; 15:9-10; 17:23-24; 17:26)

2. The Son loves the Father; (John 14:31)

3. The Son loves His own; (John 11:5; 13:1; 13:33-34; 14:21; 15:9-10; 15:12; 21:7; 21:20)

4. They must love Him; (John 14:15; 14:21; 14:23; 14:28; 21:15-26)

5. They must love one another; (John 13:34-35; 15:12-13; 15:17; 17:23)

6. The Fathers love for the disciples; (John 14:21; 14:23; 17:23)

7. Those in rebellion can not love God; (John 3:19; 5:42; 8:42)

4. More than any other New Testament writer John showsus  continually that God is love and we must and will love if we are his. He does a masterful job of explaining it in his first epistle (1 John 4:7-21)

4. (John 3:17) Jesus came to save us, not condemn us

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved”.

1. Some see a contradiction here between what we read in the Gospels of Matthew and John 

1. In Matthew, Jesus clearly tells us that, while He will save those who want to be saved, the result will cause our family members opposed to His message to turn against the born again individual. He goes on to point out that one must love Him more than anything or anyone, even family, to truly gain eternal life. (Matthew 10:34-36)

2. Whereas in John we read that Jesus says, those who think they know the truth but refuse to accept Him are actually blind and thus He will judge them by showing how blind they really are. (John 9:35-41)

3. Yet in the next verse of today’s study we see Jesus pointing out how their denial of Him is what condemns them because no one comes to the Father except through the Son (John 14:6), and all who deny Him will be denied by Him so they will be condemned by their own disbelief. ( John 5:24 and Revelation 21:8).

5. (John 3:18) One’s own disbelief is what truly condemns them 

He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

1. It does not take anything more than disbelief in the face of all the evidence to be condemned.
   If an art critic mocks a masterpiece by Van Gogh, Michael Angelo, or Leonardo da Vinci, it is not the masterpiece that is condemned but the critic. So too are those who refuse to accept the truth and the light. There is no need for judgment day to come (Though it will). Those who disbelieve the Fathers Son are already condemned because of their disbelief. (John 5:26-30)

1. It must be understood that GOD wants no one to go to hell,(2 Peter 3:9)

2. Hell wasn’t even created for man, it was created for Satan the the angels who followed him in his rebellion against GOD (Matthew 25:41)

2. Hell is our choice and our choice alone. It is the only other destination we can expect if we reject GOD’s of  sacrificing HIS SON for our sins. If we are not forgiven we cannot reside with a perfect GOD in a perfect heaven. 

6. (John19-20) By rejecting GOD’s gift of forgiveness, then we love darkness and not light

And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed

1. What better contrast could we have for good versus evil then light as opposed to darkness?

1. Light

1. Light illuminates and allows us to see where we are going. (Ephesians 5:6-14)

2. Jesus is the true light that came into a dark world (John 1:7-9)

3. When we walk in the Light we are cleansed from our sins (1John 1:7)

2. Darkness

1. In the dark we are blind to trouble and pitfalls (Proverbs 4:19)

2. In the dark evil men do their deeds (Isaiah 29:15)

3. Those who walk in the darkness are lost and do not know it (Psalm 82:5)

4. Most crime is committed in the hours of darkness, while the criminals run from the light.

7. (John 21) Those who are good do their deeds in the light for all to see, 

“But he who practices the truth comes to the light, so that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in GOD."

1. When you do what you know is right then you are not afraid of the consequences

1. The old axiom “Character is determined by what you do when no one is watching”

2. The light allows us to not worry whether someone watches us or not

3. You will love the truth and be seen for your good works (James 2:14-22)

1. By prayer

2. By searching the Scriptures to know the Lord better 

3. By helping those in need and 

4. By sharing the Gospel so others may see the light and be saved (James 5:20)

4. That they are performed according to the will of God

1. As we become more of a spiritual person his will becomes our desires (Psalm 37:4)

2. He will even assist us in our endeavors

3. Ultimately we gain eternal life for following His will (1John 2:17)

This is the close of our Lord’s discourse with Nicodemus. It was one of the most remarkable conversations in the whole New Testament because in 25 words the Lord gave us His heart, His plan for salvation, and His desire for our life. John 3:16 is the basis for the whole of Christianity.