The Father Glorifies the Son..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. John chapter 8 from verse 31. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know truth, and the truth will set you free.

They answered him, We are offspring of Abraham, have never been a slave to anyone. How is it that you say we will become free? Jesus answered them, truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. Slave does not remain in the house forever. The son remains forever.

So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham. Yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my father, and you do what you have heard from your father. They answered him, Abraham is our father.

And Jesus said to them, if you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did. But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did. They said to him, we were not born of sexual immorality.

We have one father, even God. Jesus said to them, if God were your father, you would love him for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.

You are of your father, the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which of you convicts me of sin?

If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God. The Jews answered him, are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon? Jesus answered them, I do not have a demon, but I honor my father and you dishonor me.

Yet I do not seek my own glory. There is one who seeks it and he is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death. The Jews said to him, now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and as did the prophets.

Yet you say, if anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died? What do you make yourself out to be? Or who do you make yourself out to be?

Jesus answered, If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, He is our God. But you have not known Him. I know Him. If I were to say that I do not know Him, I would be a liar like you.

But I do know Him, and I keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad. So the Jews said to him, you are not yet 50 years old, and have you seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.

So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. Amen. Rust withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord remains forever. Father, we come before you right now and we ask that you would be among us. We read your word.

It is your word that is inherent, infallible. It is your word that is breathed out by you. It carries supreme authority over our lives. It is true in every sense and we revere it as we revere you. So now we ask, Lord, as we have read the reading of your word, that you would be with the teaching of your word.

May only that which corresponds to truth be spoken from this pulpit, and may only that that corresponds to truth be pressed into the heart of your people by your Holy Spirit. Presence yourself among us by him, we ask, and give us faith to receive from you. For we are weak, we are needy, and we ask that our Heavenly Father would bestow this gift upon us this evening. We ask this in the blessed name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Well, we are no strangers to the eighth chapter of the Gospel of John. We've been working our way through slowly. And working our way through, we know where Jesus is in the temple ceiling. He's having this discourse where, with the Jews in that day, the discourse changed from the Pharisees, the religious leaders, in about 31 verse 31, where now he's conversing with those who are supposedly a people who had professed some sort of faith. Christ.

But as we've worked our way through this eighth chapter, we're nearing the climax now. We've seen how Jesus has revealed more and more of himself, his claims, his His high and glorious realities of who He is and what the Father has sent Him to do. And what we've seen also is more and more the reaction of the people who are listening on the other end. It's been ever so interesting. It's been so edifying to the soul to see how the human heart reacts to the words of Jesus Christ.

Last time we were in this gospel, the fourth gospel, we made it down to the second of the three double emphatic statements from the mouth of our Lord. You remember the truly, truly statements. Psalm 25 in the gospel according to John. Three in this chapter alone. We looked at that one and we opened it up and we explored what was there.

And that double emphatic statement was found in verse 51 where the Lord said, It's a solemn warning. It's a solemn warning to this Jewish audience, and in fact to all of us as well. But this Jewish audience were the original recipients of the word of our Lord, and they're there in the temple precinct, and they are to realize that this Jesus, this rabbi who stands before them, who they cannot compete with his wisdom, and his knowledge, and his stature, and his grace. This Jesus who stands before them is their only hope. No other hope.

If truly, truly I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, you will never see death. It's a warning, but it's also an open invitation where Jesus says, come, come and believe upon me. Believe in the claims I'm making. Believe in my teaching. Come receive my words.

Because if you do not receive me, and you do not receive my words, then you will die in your sin. That's verse 24. Another warning from his mouth. To die in the sin we said last time, or a few, actually probably a couple of months ago now, is to die in the unforgiven state. And that's a scary thing to be in.

But you see that the subject matter here in John chapter 8, this is of utmost seriousness. The discussions the Lord's having with these Jews, and many of which had come to some way or in some way believe upon Christ. This discussion he's having is important. It's not a tertiary issue. It is of primary importance to the souls of the people listening to him.

This is not like the discussions that we could have, you know, those discussions that begin with, this is an in-house discussion. We can have differences on this point or that point, but we still remain brothers and sisters. I love those discussions. If they're done in love and in respect, they're very edifying. But this is not what's going on here.

The discussions that Jesus is having in dialogues He's having with these people and the truths that are coming out of His mouth are of absolute primary importance because they are pertaining to matters of life and death. That's what hangs upon believing the words of our Lord here in chapter 8 and in particular in this section as well. Because he said, unless my word abides in you, unless you keep my word, unless you guard it, unless you treasure it, unless you believe the words I am saying, you believe the person saying those words, then you will, you will die. He'll die in your sins. And if you remember last time we spoke about the death that is listed for us here in verse 51.

We don't want to be put off by the word death because our society says death is the end. Somehow they conjured in their mind to believe that that's where everything ends. It's a short life, I'll tell you. You only live once. Do it all now, because when you die, you die.

No, when you die, you don't die. That's the beginning. We saw that last time we were in the fourth gospel, according to John. The second death is the Bible's way of saying, torment under the wrath of God that lasts for all eternity in a place called hell, a real place called hell. We heard about it this evening, our brother told us, and it's a real place.

It's the Bible's way of saying there is no end to the soul that has been breathed upon by God. There is a beginning for every human being who's ever come on this planet, but there will be no end. Either you end up in heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ, praise be to his name, or you end up in the second death in the place called the lake of fire, Gehenna, or whatever you want to call it. There's those two options, only those two options. That's the death that Jesus is speaking of here, brothers and sisters.

A continual existence under the wrath of God, completely separated from the gracious presence of God. What a scary place to be. And what's even more I guess upsetting, is that we've already determined that the crowd that are before Jesus, although in verse 31 told to have believed in him, we've worked our way through enough of this chapter to now figure out these aren't real converts. They're false converts. They believed something of Christ.

They walked behind Him somehow, maybe with a bit of joy. They were claiming to be disciples, but as the time went on and Jesus spoke to them, they could no longer bear the words of our Lord. And it became clear to our hearts, at least, that these were fakes. They weren't the real deal. So picking up from where we left off last time, we're now made aware of what their response was to our Lord when our Lord said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.

How did they take those words? Well, we see it in verse 52, and it's not good. In fact, it's vicious. It's low. It's horrible.

Verse 52, the Jews said to him, that's the Christ. Now we know that you have a demon. We know. We have reached certainty, Jesus, that you are a demoniac. You're possessed by a demon.

Now this is devastating because when we see this and read these words, I trust if you've come to know Christ and to be united in Him, you love Him. You don't want to hear this. You don't want to see this. This is offensive to our hearts. To see the sinless Lamb of God, the Son of God, who's perfect and holy and just and pure in every sense of the word, who'd never sin, to be called a demon-possessed man, that brings our hearts to Well, it saddens us, it offends us.

And I guess we have a right to be offended, we love him. Think for a moment about these people who are now calling him demon possessed. Think about the state of their soul right now. How disastrous it is for them. to have now made a definite verdict about this Jesus who stands before them.

And if they continue down that path, if they continue to hold that verdict, they have dug their own grave into that second death. There's no way out. He is the only Savior. He is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. No one comes to the Father but through Him.

And to cast him off like that is to say goodbye to life and to embrace what is coming, inevitably, hellfire. Now let's face it, it doesn't exactly come as a surprise to us. We follow the narrative thus far and we've seen how the fever of these audience before the Lord has escalated over time. You remember he began with a bit of resistance in verse 33 and then they started to dig their heels in a little bit in opposition to our Lord in verse 39. Emotions started to surface in verse 41 where we see a underhanded smear against our Lord.

And then finally in verse 48 Being polite didn't matter anymore. Things got ugly. The insults became dirty, and you know one way, of course, from the Jews towards our Lord. Verbal, brutal attacks of our Lord. Are we not right, they said, in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?

Just about the two most offensive things you can tell a first century Jew, you're a Samaritan and you have a demon, and they said them both to Christ. However, as vicious as the attacks were, as vicious as these insults were, if you read it correctly, you'll find it's actually said in a way of a question. Are we not right? There might be some nobility to that, right? Because maybe they're open to allow their consciences to be corrected by the Lord.

This is what we think, Jesus, that you're a Samaritan. We think that you are demon-possessed. Are we wrong in saying that, Jesus? Correct us, if you will. I mean, I have framed it as a question, are we not right in saying?

Now, that may be so. I'm more likely to believe that it was a rhetorical question. I'm more likely to believe that they've already made their mind about Jesus. I don't think they were really waiting for a response from our Lord. I think they've made their minds up.

But even if we were to give them the benefit of the doubt, that was then. This is now. And right now, here in verse 52, there is nothing, not a single iota in the language to even remotely suggest that they are open to be convicted otherwise. No. Now, their response is final.

No remorse. No peace of conscience. The Jews said to him, Now we know. We've made a verdict about you, Jesus. The whole section starts with the testimony.

Remember, your testimony is not true, they said, because you don't have more than one witness. And Jesus proved to me that he does. But even if he testifies on his own, he says, my testimony is truth. He only knew who I was, but who I am. And now they've made a judgment upon Christ as though they're standing in the law court.

And they said, we now know we made a decision on you, Jesus. You are demon possessed. We made our decision. We reached a level of certainty. It's incredible to me.

It's also very humbling at the same time. Because in these words, we realize how dark and evil the human heart is. And the apostle, when the prophet Jeremiah said, it is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. So true, but what comes next is what pierces my heart. He says, who can understand it?

In other words, if you think that your heart is that big, you have no idea. You have no idea. God knows. God knows. One moment they're professing to be followers of Christ and probably and most likely all excited about it.

And the very next offense sets in. And what we see is what is a typical manifestation of deep-rooted hatred and resentment against our Lord. All in the matter of what? Minutes? Let's give it hours.

We know it's the same day. This could be an inspired summary of what took place. So let's give it hours. In the space of hours, they've gone from, Jesus, we're excited about you. We want to follow up to you.

And now they're calling him demon-possessed, not even calling him. Now they're asserting that they know and the level of certainty that, Jesus, you are demon-possessed. What about his words of salvation? What about his claims, his teachings, his sayings, his power that he's demonstrated before you? What about his words of wisdom that he's spoken with and his explanations?

What about all that, the very things that caused you to follow after him in the first place? With the stakes so high, have you dismissed Jesus just like that? Just like that. They drop it. Jesus, you said we are not of God.

Only moments earlier, verse 47. Now we have made the verdict. You're the one who is not of God. You're the enemy of God, Jesus. Why?

Why would they make such a devastating, detrimental conclusion about our Lord? Why? Well, theologically, we can all answer that question, I'm sure, but the text makes the point clear in their reasoning. And it's no different to what we've seen already. Bottom line, they are not his sheep.

That's the bottom line. They're devoid of spiritual life. following after Christ was never empowered by the Spirit of God. They never had an encounter with the Lord. The good news of Christ, the words of Christ, the gospel that came from the mouth of Jesus, the teaching that he was proclaiming with, that was all settled, that was all in their minds somehow, but it was never embedded in the soul by the Spirit of God.

never received within their being. They held it somewhere up here, but it never sunk in. Beloved, that means that they were never taken out of the realm of darkness into the kingdom of the sun, into the realm of light. That means the only assessments they can make are purely fleshly, because there is no spirit of God within them. And you see, Because that's the case, it will answer the question, how is it that someone who professes, at the beginning of the day at least, to be a follower of Christ, to now only a few hours, at most, later, declare with emphatic confirmation in their heart at least, that he is now demon possessed.

How can that take place in a matter of hours? Well, the answer is it doesn't take place in a matter of hours. The answer is they never came out of the darkness. The answer is that sort of hatred is intrinsic in the sinful nature. And so it was just a matter of time that that sleeping giant, if you may call it, was awakened by something that Jesus said that caused offense or some things that progressively offended them.

And now what was inside here has been manifest out here. It didn't happen over a few hours. It was always there. The Bible is very clear that those who are not in Christ are in enmity with God. They're God haters.

They don't sit on the fence. They are absolutely God haters. So when this type of person, when this unregenerate person comes across difficulty or tribulation or something offensive in the flesh because their faith in Christ was never rooted in the soul, they will inevitably fall away. And beloved, that's the whole message of the parable of the soils, is it not? And when they do fall away, it's hardly ever peaceful.

Because as I said, they're in enmity with God. And when that enmity is manifest, then they normally have a lot to say about that faith that they thought they once knew. That Christ that they thought they once knew. That church that they thought they once belonged to. We all know people like that, I'm sure.

So for these Jews to be taking our Lord's purely, well our Lord's words now, what we're seeing before us, they don't have the Spirit of God, they don't have spiritual understanding, therefore they're taking our Lord's words purely from a physical, literal point of view, right? They're not seeing the deeper spiritual meaning of what Christ is intending for people who have ears to hear, to hear. Everything they're hearing through their ears is just physical. So when Jesus speaks about death, they're thinking when the heart stops beating, or the lungs stop, or when the eyes close and you need to put someone six foot under. That's all they're thinking.

They're thinking as far as that. Now, it doesn't mean they didn't believe in an afterlife. Of course they did. The Pharisees were taught or teaching these things. But when it comes from the mouth of our Lord, they're so limited in their understanding.

And because of their misunderstanding of what our Lord is saying, they now speak. ill of our Lord. So here we see that in the matter of death they misunderstand completely what our Lord is saying. Verse 52, the Jews said to him, now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died as did the prophets.

Yet you say if anyone keeps my word he will never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham who died and the prophets died? Who do you make yourself out to be? Sometimes it's like them saying, Jesus, we've been listening to you for a while, now it's time for you to listen to us. We're gonna give you a lesson on human mortality.

And we're gonna give you a lesson on human mortality in the greatest of us human beings. And you don't really compete, Jesus, but just sit back and listen. If anyone keeps my word, you said, Jesus, he will never taste death. We don't believe it. We don't think you know what you're talking about.

We think you're demon possessed. Now, it's interesting to see that they do misquote Christ. They say, Jesus, you said that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death. Jesus didn't actually say that. He said, would never see death.

But there's nothing sinister in that. It pretty much means the same thing. The words mean to not partake in death or experience death. So both ways, I don't think there's anything sinister in the misquotation. However, I do see a smugness in their talk.

I see a smugness in their attitude, in their response. It's as though they're saying, Jesus, if you are familiar with Scripture, as you say you are, then you would know some very important things, and that is good people, people who are well known, people who are recognized to be followers and keepers of the Word of God, have died. Abraham for one, the great father Abraham, he lived to a good old age, a ripe old age of 175. But even Abraham, our father Abraham, the father of promise, he died. We're told he died.

We're told that his son Isaac and his son Ishmael buried him in the cave of Mekella. We know that. It's written for us in the Torah. How about the prophets? These men of God who kept the Word of God, no doubt, who guarded the Word of God, who proclaimed the Word of God.

Jesus, didn't they die also? Now, of course, there were some exceptions with the prophets, wasn't there? You have Enoch and you have Elijah, but I don't think they were thinking of those. It's okay. The rest did die.

They were probably thinking of the great prophet. Who was the great prophet for the Jews? Moses, even in the next chapter, they pride themselves in chapter 9 to say that we are disciples of who? Moses said it's very possible that these Jews were thinking of this great prophet Moses, the great prophet who spoke face to face with God. That's how the text scripture describes it.

And yet he, he and he, died. Again, he reached a good age of 120 years of age. But he died and he was buried in Moab. The Bible tells us no one knows exactly where he was buried, but he was buried nonetheless. Even Moses died.

So you see, that made the point. If Abraham died and the prophets died, then Jesus, how can you say if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death? Again, we know it's a misunderstanding. They don't understand that Jesus is speaking in spiritual. They think he's still speaking in the physical.

Christ knows that, but he doesn't correct them. In fact, he goes on to answer the two of their questions. Actually, the questions they've asked Jesus. You'll see them there in verse 53. Can you see the two questions they ask our Lord?

They're very important questions, and Jesus offers them answers towards the end of the chapter, and once they receive the answers, they have all the information they need to know about Christ. But it also means something else. It means that once He has revealed to them the answers to those questions, if they continue to reject Him still, their judgment will be greater. Because the Bible is very clear, with more light comes what? Greater judgment.

Greater judgment. First question, verse 53, is are you greater than our father Abraham? What's the second? Who do you make yourself to be? Now the first question, who is, are you greater than our father Abraham?

That's a question that Jesus will answer next. In fact, what he does is he answers that question progressively towards the end of the chapter, and then in verse 58, he gives them the clear answer, and we see their response. We'll get to that maybe next week, maybe a little bit later. But the second question that they ask, who do you make yourself out to be? This is the question that Jesus answers fairly immediately, and he does so with great clarity.

Now, I must admit, it's difficult to determine or achieve a level of certainty of the tone of the way the Jews were asking the question, but I've always said that context is important. Based on the context of this passage or this chapter, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to assume that these questions asked from the mouth of the Jews, at this point at least, were not sincere. I don't believe that they were genuine questions. I think they were disingenuous by nature. Look at what they've already declared.

Jesus, we know that you have a demon. Do you think people who speak like that are sincere to find out what Jesus' point of view would be if he is indeed greater than Abraham? Let me ask you. If Jesus did say, yes, I am greater than Abraham, do you think they would just drop on their knees and worship him? Do you think the question is genuine?

I don't think so. I think they've made up their mind. These aren't sincere questions. They're insults. They're jabs.

They're logos. I'd say the tone is more like Jesus. If you actually do consider the words coming out of your mouth to be true, You would have to actually believe that you're greater than Abraham, and that would make you deluded. No, no, no. That would make you demon-possessed, and that's why we're calling you demon-possessed.

So now tell us, Jesus. Who do you think you are? To their peril, I believe they're making Jesus out to be the punchline of their jokes. I think that's what's going on here. The Lord of Glory, their only hope, they treat in contempt.

But even still, our Lord still engages with them and gives them some sublime truths that I hope we'll see and we'll be edified by. But before we get to the Lord's response to these two questions, we need to recognize the nuance in particular in the second of the two questions. It may not be clear at first. It may be for you, I'm not sure. It wasn't so clear to me.

But if we get to see this nuance, it may actually shed some light to why the conversation goes where it goes and why Jesus actually says what he says. Because when the Jews say, who do you make yourself out to be? We can take it like they're saying, who do you think you are, Jesus? I think there's an element of that, but I don't think that's in its fullness. Or it could be a genuine inquiry.

I'd dismiss that, but it could be a genuine inquiry like them saying, Jesus, please enlighten us about your identity. But I think that's not happening either. It's what we see before us, beloved, is actually an accusation against our Lord. And I hope to show you that. Because if you read it slowly, you'll get the nuance.

Just read it slowly. Who do you make yourself out to be? Who do you make yourself out to be? In other words, It's not who you are. It's what you're making yourself out to be.

You know the word make yourself can be translated manufacture, acting, even to perform. You see these Jews are making, they're not making a serious, genuine inquiry. I believe what they're doing is they're accusing our Lord of some sort of showmanship. as though he's an actor on a stage putting on a great performance. But now you've been caught out, Jesus.

We've caught you out. We're onto you. You're a fraud. Fess up. Who are you trying to impersonate?

What's your agenda, Jesus? The charade is over. We've seen right through you. This is horribly, it actually makes my stomach churn when I think about our Lord being treated this way. But I believe truly that's what's going on in the passage before us.

I think it's more sinister than it plays out at first sight, at least. Who do you make yourself out to be? You're artificial, is what they're saying. You know, it's the same word that is used in John chapter 10, verse 33. Let me read that section to you from verse 31.

For the Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Of course, that's Christ. Jesus answered them. I've shown you many good works from the Father, for which of them are you going to stone me? The Jews answered him, it is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you being a man, that's what you are, Jesus.

You're a man. You're a man. Make yourself God. You're not God. You're acting and impersonating to be God and therefore now you are worthy of being stoned to death.

They wanted to stone him then and now, not far from now, they're going to try to stone him here in chapter 8 as well. We've seen your type. You're nobody who's trying to be a somebody in people's eyes. You're a fake, you're a counterfeit, is what they're saying. This acting needs to come to an end, as some have already said in chapter seven, which is only a few days earlier, where they said that this man is leading people astray.

In other words, he's a fraud, he's a deceiver. They're accusing him of falsehood. How ironic. They're accusing Jesus of falsehood in the very chapter that speaks about truth and Christ speaking the words of truth. And if you belong with my truth, if you abide in my truth, Jesus says, you will know or abide in my word, you will know what truth and the truth will set you free.

They're saying, Jesus, you don't, you don't know truth. You're a fake. You're a fraud. That's the accusation they're giving. They think he is a performer putting up a facade.

The goal, of course, in their mind is self-aggrandisement, that Jesus, you are just simply trying to bring glory to yourself. You're trying to amass a crowd, a following, to get popularity, to get people to listen to you, to make yourself this rabbi that everyone follows. You just want to seek praise from people. That's what you want, for people to think more highly of you than you deserve. You're hungry, Jesus, for applause, for honor.

That's what you are looking for. And this whole stage is a performance. That's what it seems to be going on here. Here you have the incarnate son of God. The son of the living God who stands before them offering eternal salvation, a free gift.

One that will come at an immeasurable cost. A salvation that would require him to endure the horrific under the wrath of God and shed his own blood in an anguish that none of us can even begin to fathom. Here he is, proclaiming that truth, calling them to believe upon that truth. And they're thinking, you putting on a show of what's in it for you. The facade.

You just want to see the glory. How wrong were these men? How blind were these men? To come up with a verdict like that, which is so opposite to the truth. Because if there's anything our Lord has made abundantly clear, it is this.

He has not come to this earth to receive glory. but to give it. Verse 49, I honor my father. Verse 50, I do not seek my own glory clearer than those words, but they don't believe. Only days earlier in chapter 7, remember chapter 7 was in the midway part of the Feast of Booths, this is one day after, this is the eighth day.

No more than maybe four days. Only then, chapter 7, Jesus says, the one who speaks of his own authority seeks his own glory, but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him, that's God the Father, is true, and in him there is no falsehood. They're saying, Jesus, you are fake. There is falsehood in you. And Jesus is saying, how wrong, how wrong can you be?

And the one who seeks the glory is, of course, the Father. Or the one who glorifies the Son is the Father. And here we have the Jews saying, Jesus, who do you make yourself out to be? but his ears, his words are falling on deaf ears. Now with that in mind, beloved, thinking through that context, understanding that accusation, we can now go to our Lord's response.

Verse 54, Jesus answered, if I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my father who glorifies me of whom you say he is our God. But you have not known Him. I know Him. If I were to say that I do not know Him, I would be a liar like you.

But I do know Him and I keep His word. I love that. If I seek my own glory, my glory is nothing. It's empty. It is meaningless to me is what Jesus is saying.

So let me disavow you of that notion right away. I'm not here to amass a crowd. I'm not here to amass a popularity or to make a name for myself. I did not come in pomp or splendor. I don't need the applause of men.

If all you altogether give me applause and blow wind under my sails, it would not make one iota of a difference to my joy or for what I have come to do. I would remember what the Lord said to the disciples when they were in Samaria in John chapter 4. He was hungry but then he said to them, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. How about verse 30 to 29 of this actual chapter here that we spent some time on a couple of months ago when he said, and he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.

Beloved, Are you glad that Jesus always does what is pleasing to the Father and not what is pleasing to other people? Jesus is not a people pleaser. If there's any satisfaction in the incarnate Son of God it was this, to accomplish the will of the Father and to bestow all the glory and all the honor and all the praise to His Father. But more pertinent to our text is the fact that the father is the one who glorifies the son. And that's the only glory the son is interested in.

You see that there? No other glory makes it on his radar. His listeners should be aware of this already. Because only one moment earlier, only a few verses back, he said, yet I do not seek my own glory. But there is one who seeks it.

Who's that one? The one may not have been so clear to these Jews. Now we remember just a few verses back. I think it was verse 20. 27, when Jesus was speaking about the Father all through the chapter, we're told there they did not understand that He was speaking to them about the Father.

So when Jesus says, the Father, they didn't understand. Is the Father God? Who is He speaking to? But here, right now, it becomes so crystal clear to them. It is my Father who glorifies me, He says, of whom you say He is our God.

If you didn't make the connection before, the Father is actually Yahweh. Now you can make the connection, because the Father, and every time I've spoken about the Father, I'm speaking about the one who you all declare to be God. And again, that word glorifies, as in, it is my Father who glorifies me, is in the present active participle, meaning even now as Jesus is speaking to them in the temporal precinct, even right now the Father is glorifying the Son. Glorious. Having tasted that glory before the world began, why would the creator of all things seek to please his creatures and covet their applause?

It's crazy. If only that truth was made known in fullness to his hearers. Beloved, if only that truth would be made known to our hearts also, because then we would begin to see the indescribable humility of our Lord in the incarnation and what he even had to endure from his creatures before the cross. The insults, the despising, the ridicule, that he would be despised in that way and put at the very center of their ridiculing, at the very center of their disbelief. Our Lord is not a people pleaser.

He doesn't need the empty applause and the glory that comes from it. He is one who has an absolute settled assurance in his soul in all that he does because the glory that comes from his Father is enough. And it's all that matters. No distractions. No allurements, no enticements.

The glory from the Father is what completely satisfies his soul. You know, I've said this on many occasions. Christ is certainly unique in these incarnate redemptive mission. Only Christ Jesus could do what Christ Jesus has done to accomplish our salvation. We have to acknowledge that the beloved Jesus who came into this world as a man, the reasonable body and a reasonable soul is also our example to follow, is also our example to follow.

And I think here we need to be asking ourselves, if Christ is only concerned with the glory that comes from above, and he's our example to follow, then shouldn't we also only be concerned with the glory that comes from above? What is the source of the glory that we all seek? Is it from man? Or is it from God? Let's think about those words.

Are we people-pleasers? Or are we God-pleasers? You know, we can answer that question in our minds, and we can answer it theologically. But practically, how does that work out in our lives? How do we live our lives, our thoughts, our actions?

How do we live our lives? Our lives live typically as those who do seek the glory that comes from above or the glory that comes from man. How much do we value the pats on the back that other people give us? The actions that we do, even the acts of benevolence, is it truly those things that we think we're doing in love for the glory of God? Are we doing it indeed for the glory of God?

Only each individual can answer this question, by the way. Or is there something in us that says, I want to be seen as a noble person? Because beloved, this is something we all struggle with. This is the essence of pride. We.

We have something in us called the flesh and it seeks self-aggrandizement. How could people blow wind under my sails? How can I receive applaud from others? I want others to see me in a light that maybe is a bit better than what I really am. Beloved, that's a scary thing because it is possible that we can be sitting in these seats for those very reasons.

It could be that we open the Bible and recite Scripture for that reason. It could be that we memorize Scripture, study Scripture. It could be, for all the wrong reasons, I want to be patted on the back because I know the Bible, because I can recite the Bible, because I can speak the Bible, because I know the stories, I know the facts, I can recite all the books. Whatever that may be, it could be that we're doing it for the very wrong reasons. that we're doing so we can get the applaud of others.

Let me tell you something. The applaud of men is empty. Jesus knows it's empty. We ought to know it's empty also. Because people pleases don't please the Lord.

You're either pleasing others or you're pleasing Him. That's just how It works. Either you'll have a life that is stamped and defined by a trajectory that only seeks to have the applaud of others and others to come and say, great job, you've done well, you're clever, great you're doing these things. I want to give you a pat on the back. Either we seek the praise and the recognition of others or we're seeking the praise and the recognition of God himself.

Beloved, where are our works rooted? Are they rooted in seeking His glory or their glory? Where are our motivations, our intentions of the heart? What is the substance within that drives us to do what we do? Because beloved, the fact of the matter is, if we have lives that are stamped and defined simply by only pleasing others, then the Bible is clear, we don't have saving, genuine saving faith within us.

I'm saying lives that are stamped only by wanting to please others. That sounds like a pretty harsh thing to say, but don't take my word for it. In John chapter 5, this is what Jesus says in the same city to the Jews in those days. It was only about a year or a year earlier, a year and a half earlier. In John chapter 5, this is what Jesus says.

He says, How can you believe? Now He's speaking to Jews that He's proclaimed. You will remember John chapter 5 is some very high and lofty Christological truths that speak to the deity of Christ. Incredible. If I was going to prove to someone that Jesus is Lord, that Jesus is God, you can do that throughout the scripture, but John chapter 5 is almost exclusive in my mind that you just can't read it sincerely and walk away saying at least Jesus believes that He is God.

And then Jesus says to the Jews, how can you believe when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? people pleases find a big obstacle in their way, because they're so concerned with pleasing others, pleasing God doesn't even make it on the radar. And that's what Jesus is saying, if your life is stamped and defined by only seeking the glory that comes from man and not from God, then he's saying that you may be devoid of spiritual life. The question is, we need to ask, What is the trajectory of our lives? Because I'm not saying Christians don't stumble in this area, but as I said earlier, we do.

We do indeed stumble in this area. But what is the trajectory of our lives? What is empowering our actions? What is empowering our thoughts? Where are our motivations rooted?

For Christ it is to seek the glory of the Father. For Christ it is, I'm not interested in what you have to say, I'm only interested in what my Father has to say. And as our example, that ought to be our hearts as well, to please Him. And whatever glory comes from Him, and we'll talk about that a little bit later on, then that is what our hearts ought to seek. Because for Christ, He only is the righteous, sinless Lamb of God.

He's the one who lived in perfection and holiness. Not a single sin was found in Him. Only a few verses back, who can convict me of a single sin? No one could. But we are a little different, because we have a simple flesh.

And in us, we can choose to set our eyes upon Jesus, the author and the perfecter of our faith, and walk in the light, and bring glory to the God of the universe, and not be concerned with how others see us. That doesn't mean we're rude and abrupt. Of course not. But we'll live by faith and in love for others. But we can also choose to submit to the flesh and its desires that still remains until the Lord comes back and takes us home.

There is corruption within, and that corruption is always seeking self, self-glory. God pleases. I praise what we seek to be. And Jesus said, those who seek the glory of God have no falsehood in them at all. You see, that's the key for Christians.

That as we fix our eyes upon God, as we fix our eyes upon who He is, and our hearts being desiring and longing by the Spirit's power to seek His glory alone, then that sanctifies our hearts and our minds. It cleanses us. Because we're not concerned with what people think. You know, if we are indeed people-pleasers, if that's the concern of our hearts, then you can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that people-pleasers are ones who are corrupt on the inside. Because people-pleasers are only concerned with how they look on the outside.

Because the concern is how others perceive me, how others see me. God-pleasers are concerned with both. What is on the inside, because what is on the inside empowers what comes out and manifests out of our lives. The manifestation of our works, of our actions, is always a product of what is rooted within. And if we're clean on the in, if we are desiring to seek after the Lord and his glory and his glory alone, then the manifestations of our lives will be good fruit.

otherwise hypocrisy is what we will see. So concerned with how others see us that we may indeed try to look like something that we are not. The very thing that the Jews are accusing Jesus of but in fact not concerned about what is within. No one else sees it. No one sees my thoughts.

No one knows what I do in the private place. When I'm out and about, I'll be on my best behavior. But what I do in my own time, in my private place, in the thoughts of my mind, what thoughts I entertain in my mind, that's my business, isn't it? Oh, oh. God sees.

And you don't do it because you're afraid. Don't hear me wrong. Don't hear me wrong. You're not seeking the glory of God because you're afraid that he'll smite you with his wrath. Those who are in Christ know there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Beloved, it's rooted in love for him. because of what He has done. It's rooted in the fact that the Spirit of God now dwells within and now empowers us to a holy life. At least that's how we ought to live. We all stumble, we all fall.

God knows that there is one who is faithful and just, and there's an abundance of grace to be forgiven of our sins. But that's the heart that I pray that we desire to have. That's the heart that Christ has given His people, to seek God, to seek His glory, and not our own. Back to our Lord. We've spoken on previous weeks what it means for the Son to glorify the Father.

There's many passages that we've worked through in the Gospels, in the Gospel of John in chapter 7 and 8 that speaks to that. But what does it mean that the Son glorifies, oh my apologies, the Father glorifies the Son? Let's just very quickly and briefly look at that. How does the Father glorify the Son. We've seen how the Son glorifies the Father in His obedience, in accomplishing the Father's will.

How does the Father glorify the Son? Well, I would say to you in the very same way. Because Christ glorified His Father in everything. Everything. And the Father glorifies the Son in everything.

Even from the beginning. It's evident that the Father, in love, is glorifying His Son. One cannot read the Word of God and not see this reality, even from the beginning, even from Genesis, in the creation passage, in the early chapters of Genesis. Because it's there that the Son is evident. He's the eternal Logos, the Word.

He's the one who spoke the universe into existence. When man plunged into sin our federal head, Adam, from the beginning the Father reveals that the seed of the woman would be the savior of humanity. And how will He save humanity? By crushing the head of the serpent. That's the Son.

Those passages bring glory to the Son. Moving forward, it's the Son who is the representation of the true people of God. He's the true Israel that He called out of Egypt. It's the Son who is the one who is typified in the cloud by day and the pillar by night that led the Israelites out of Egypt, out of bondage. It's the Son who is typified in the manna.

We saw that in John chapter 6, that He is the bread from heaven. It's the Son who's typified in the water from the rock that fed or that quenched the thirst of the people of God. It's the son who is typified in the dwelling place of God, the tabernacle, and all the instruments in the tabernacle. It's the Son who is typified in the sacrifices and the offerings of the old. He's the Son who is typified in the high priestly service we heard of even this evening.

It's the Son who is typified in the prophets who speak the Word of God and proclaim it in truth. It is the Son who is typified in the kings of Israel because He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. It's the Son who is the Messiah, the Anointed One of God. who will be sent, or who has been sent, to redeem the world. As the Samaritans said in John chapter 4, it is He who is the Savior of the world.

How does the Father glorify the Son in everything? God's revelation, this book that He's given us, finds its center and its goal in the Son, Jesus Christ. He is the radiance of the glory of God, the light of the world, The Father was always glorifying the Son in everything, and for those who have eyes to see, that would read the inerrant and infallible God-breathed Word that testifies to this reality on every page. From old the message was clear, the Messiah, the Son of God, is the only, only hope for humanity. Remember, that's what Jesus said to the religious people in this same city.

He says, you search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life and it is they that bear witness about me. Not only in the Old Testament has the Father glorified the Son, of course, but so much more fully even in the New. Evident from even before our Lord enters into his earthly ministry, you remember, back in the first chapter of the fourth gospel, we're told that it is God, the Father, who raised a man by the name of John the Baptist. And it's John the Baptist who would usher in the glorious radiance of the Savior of the world. We're told back there, there was a man sent by God whose name was John.

He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he came to bear witness about the light. The true light which gives light to everyone. The radiance. The effulgence, the glory that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.

And when the Messiah did come into the world, you remember the ministry of the Baptist? You remember what he did? He pointed to this Jesus and he said, Israel, behold your King. Behold your Savior. This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Behold your savior. A lamb? Sounds a bit odd. A lamb? Yes.

Yes, the lamb. Why? Because he's ultimately glorified as the sacrificial lamb slain for the redemption and the atonement of the sins of his people. Yeah. Yeah, he's glorified in everything that the Father does.

And you know, the greatest of all prophets, which is John the Baptist, recognizing his place before this glorious son of God, recognizing that he is only the best man, but this is the bridegroom who has come, and when the bridegroom comes, he's to come off center stage and give the stage and the glory and the pomp to this Jesus. You remember what he said? He said, I must decrease, but he must. That, I believe, should be the life verse for every one of us. May the Lord make us to decrease, put self to death, and make Christ be exalted in our lives.

Father glorifies the Son even with his own voice. You can think of when, can't you? There's only a few examples in the Gospels. This is my Son, my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased when Jesus was baptized to begin his earthly ministry. But how about on the Mount of Transfiguration, when Peter, James and John go up to the mount with Jesus and he gives them a glimpse of his pre-incarnate glory.

Remember, the Lord said the same thing, the Father spoke from heaven saying the same thing. This is my son in whom I, my beloved son in whom I am well pleased, but he says something else. Do you remember what he says? Listen to him. Beloved, sometimes when I want to read a book and I'm not sure or not familiar with the author, I will read the endorsements at the back.

And if I can find someone I know and trust, I'd give it a go. Because it's that person's reputation on the line. He's signed his name to this book. And if I read the book and I'm happy with the book, great. If I'm not happy with the book, then maybe next time I'll think twice about reading a book that that person has endorsed.

This is my son in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him. What an endorsement. This is the God of the universe speaking from heaven and saying, I am fully and finally endorsing my son in all that he says, in every word he speaks. I will stand behind every truth that comes out of his mouth, every teaching, every saying, every claim that he makes.

I stand behind him and my reputation will never be tarnished because this is my son and his words are my words. His words are my words. The father glorifies the son and the son is only, only interested in the glory of the father. The Father glorified the Son in the manifestation of His power, in the miracles, in the signs, in the wonders. We know this.

The Father glorified the Son in everything that the Son did. There was a reciprocal glory. The Son was glorifying the Father, and the Father was glorifying the Son. But especially, He glorified the Son when His Son, in loving obedience, was submissive even to death. Death upon that cross.

You see, it's on the cross when we see that reciprocating glory, where we see the heart's intention of both the Father and Son. It's a beautiful thing. We see that in John chapter 17, verse 1, when Jesus says, Father, the hour has come. The hour for what? To lay down his life, right?

This is what human history is about. This is the center. This is the climax. Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son.

He doesn't stop there, though, does he? Father, give me glory that so that the Son may glorify you. Isn't that beautiful? Glorify me in order that I may give you all the glory. And he did.

Because when the Son hung on that cross, The Father did glorify the Son. We're told in Matthew chapter 27, we're told, And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook. and the rocks split.

The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming out of the tombs, after the resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, Truly, this was the Son of God on the cross. God the Father was confessing, professing, this is my beloved Son. Death could not hold him.

Father glorifies the Son on the third day. He was buried on the first and on the third day, He was risen from the dead. And beloved, do you know what the resurrection means? It's glorious. The resurrection is God's way, the Father's way of vindicating everything, everything the Son has done.

Every deed, every action, every word, every claim, every promise, every saying, everything the son ever did in the resurrection, the father rose him from the dead is a vindication of the full life and the person and the full work of Jesus Christ. You know why? Because if he'd spoken an idle word, he would remain in the grave because the grave is for sinners, even if he had sinned. that Jesus said, including what he says here in John chapter 8, every last part is endorsed by the Father as truth. The grave could not hold him.

He is now resurrected as the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and he sits at the right hand of the Father, coronated as the King of the universe. Is that it? If the glory of the Father continues to be bestowed upon the Son, it continues. The praises of men were so empty, because when you think about what He's receiving from the Father, why would He even seek praise from anyone else? The Father's glory is eternal.

But even now, the testimony of the Gospel of Christ goes into all the world. and the full measure of the Spirit of God that was given to the Son from the Father, is even now gathering from every corner of the globe, from every people and every tribe and every language and every nation, is gathering those who are elect in Christ, the bride of Jesus Christ for the glory, Christ, and of the Father. And it is the same Spirit, beloved, whom our Lord said, when the Spirit of truth comes, speaking to his disciples, he will guide you in all truth, and he will not speak of his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me. So what is the Spirit of God doing in the life of the Christian?

He's bringing glory to the Son. The Spirit given to the Son by the Father and the Spirit is now residing and dwelling in the life of the Christian to bring glory to Christ, to exalt Jesus Christ. He will glorify me for he will take what is mine and he will declare it to you. The Spirit of the Father given to the Son, without measure, in His absolute fullness, still brings glory to the Son. It's incredible.

The passage in John 17 that I quoted earlier continues. Jesus says, all the Father has is mine. All that the Father has is mine. Therefore I said that He will take what is mine and declare it to you. Did you hear that?

All that the Father has Jesus speaking about the God of the universe and he says, there is nothing that the Father has that he hasn't also given to me. So let me ask you, the glory of men, the accolades, the applause, all the empty talk of men, where does that register on the scale when Jesus says all that the Father has is mine? That means all glory, all honor, and all worship. But before we get to verse 58, where Jesus says, truly, truly, before Abraham was, I am. Let me ask you something.

Who does God share his glory with? All that the Father has is mine. You don't need to go to verse 58, do you? Jesus is God. Everywhere in scripture we see over and again an abundance to show the glory of the Son who is divine.

Then I looked. And I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders, the voice of many angels, numbers or numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice, worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power, wealth, wisdom, might, honor and glory and blessing. And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea and all that is in them. There's nothing left. That's everything.

What they say, to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb. New blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever. All that the father has is mine. Let's put that into perspective, shall we? That's the glory of the son from the father.

Christian, and I'm speaking to those who have been united in Christ by faith, where will you be on that day? Where will you be on that day? That thought, acknowledging that reality will empower your lives. It'll take them off the temple and put them into the eternal. It'll take them off the glory that we sometimes seek that comes from others.

The accolades, the pats on the back, it'll take them off that. Because when we fix our eyes upon what is to come in this Christ who has accomplished all things, and all of a sudden the things of the here and now become, the temple becomes meaningless, empty, just like Christ said, if I sought my own glory with all of you, that's nothing. And our hearts will also see all that as nothing, because then, and only then, will our hearts only be longing to do that which is pleasing to the Father. that which is pleasing to the Son, living for His glory, living for the eternal, not because we are worthy or because we've done any good and we haven't, it's because He has done it all and we've always said from this pulpit, another place in our Bible study, we are never to look at the imperatives before we look at the indicative. This is who Christ is.

This is what He's accomplished. Embrace it Christian. Hold on to it. Believe it. Walk in light of it.

It will empower your lives. It empowered his life. Glory. The glory he spoke of, he had a taste of glory. He said, Father, give me the glory that we enjoyed before the world began or before the world existed.

He's speaking of fathering in John chapter 17 in his great high priestly prayer. He had already tasted of that glory. He knew it existed and it was reserved for him. And he was going back to that glory and nothing was going to stop him from going back to enjoy that glory. Have you, beloved brothers and sisters with the eyes of faith, embraced the glory that the Lord has reserved for those who love him?

I said, where will you be on that day? The text of Scripture is so clear that in Christ we have been justified and with that justification cleansed, we've been forgiven of our sins, accounted as righteous. The righteousness of Christ is what robes us, but also we have been adopted as sons of the living God. adopted sons and daughters of the living God. You know what that means?

That means we are co-heirs with the Son of God. When Jesus said, all that the Father has is mine, beloved, we're co-heirs with Christ. Where will you be on that day? No, you won't be on the throne with him. But you will be with him to enjoy the glories of heaven.

And that will never be taken away. Set our eyes on the things of above. Set our eyes on the glory of God, not on whatever this world can give us. The apostle Paul says, for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Sounds like the apostle was setting his eyes on what is to come.

Romans chapter eight, verse 18. And that doesn't mean that things will be easy and smooth sailing. Of course, there'll be difficulty, there'll be tribulation, there'll be hardships. We know that, that is true. But we are to fix our eyes upon Christ by faith and walk by faith, walk in that light.

Let me just end with this text description to encourage your hearts. It's found in Hebrews chapter 12 from one to three. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, remember this, 12 comes after 11, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus. looking to Jesus. Christ was looking to the Father, not concerned with anyone else.

We are to look to Jesus, the founder and the perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. Listen to those, who for the joy, that includes the glory and the praise that was set before him. He endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated now at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. What's the remedy not to grow weary or fainthearted in this time of exile, beloved brothers and sisters?

It is to by faith look to Jesus.