1 00:00:06,390 --> 00:00:10,680 A Father we've worshipped, your Son as true God of true God, 2 00:00:10,690 --> 00:00:15,040 Light of light. We worship you as the Father of 3 00:00:15,050 --> 00:00:17,940 Lights, the giver of good and perfect gifts. 4 00:00:18,900 --> 00:00:23,230 We thank you for our offering, which we give to you in worship, 5 00:00:23,300 --> 00:00:28,320 acknowledging that it was yours anyway and that we owe our life 6 00:00:28,330 --> 00:00:29,810 and breath and everything to you. 7 00:00:30,670 --> 00:00:35,220 We thank you for your word that it is a light and a lamp, and we 8 00:00:35,230 --> 00:00:39,290 thank you that the unfolding and the explanation of it gives 9 00:00:39,300 --> 00:00:42,800 light as well. And so we pray that today, as we 10 00:00:42,810 --> 00:00:47,760 hear from your word, publicly read and preached from, that it 11 00:00:47,770 --> 00:00:50,320 would do just that in our hearts. 12 00:00:50,730 --> 00:00:54,380 Thank you for your sunrise visiting us from on high to us 13 00:00:54,390 --> 00:00:57,550 who were in darkness. Thank you for Christ and May 14 00:00:57,620 --> 00:01:01,870 this message that we hear from your word and what the Sunday 15 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:04,420 School kids also get from your Word, we pray that it would 16 00:01:05,129 --> 00:01:09,880 cause us to walk in holiness and righteousness, that Your Spirit 17 00:01:09,890 --> 00:01:12,240 would guide our feet into the way of peace. 18 00:01:12,470 --> 00:01:14,560 We pray this in Jesus name, Amen. 19 00:01:15,910 --> 00:01:19,340 Good morning. Hey, it's good to have everybody 20 00:01:19,350 --> 00:01:21,650 here. It is the coldest day of the 21 00:01:21,660 --> 00:01:23,180 year. Well, yesterday was the coldest 22 00:01:23,190 --> 00:01:26,190 day of the year. It was also the shortest day. 23 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:29,330 So we're on the all the days get longer from here on and we're 24 00:01:29,340 --> 00:01:33,640 past the halfway mark. So that is a good time to start 25 00:01:33,650 --> 00:01:36,720 on a new series. So we're starting a new series 26 00:01:36,730 --> 00:01:40,380 today, weirdly. I will explain more about that 27 00:01:40,610 --> 00:01:43,580 what that is at the end of today's message, but it will 28 00:01:43,590 --> 00:01:45,180 make more, it'll make more sense then. 29 00:01:45,410 --> 00:01:49,400 So this morning we are going to look at this question who is 30 00:01:49,410 --> 00:01:53,300 Jesus? Because what we believe about 31 00:01:53,310 --> 00:01:59,160 Jesus will affect how we live our life and why it'll affect 32 00:01:59,250 --> 00:02:02,240 what we believe about an afterlife and what happens next. 33 00:02:02,430 --> 00:02:05,540 And as we'll see you this morning, it'll vastly impact the 34 00:02:05,550 --> 00:02:08,280 amount of hope that we have in our lives. 35 00:02:08,770 --> 00:02:13,420 So in Matthew 16, verse 13, Jesus asked the his disciples 36 00:02:13,430 --> 00:02:16,810 are really important question. He says this, this is this. 37 00:02:16,820 --> 00:02:20,670 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked 38 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:24,910 his disciples, saying, Who do men say that I, the Son of Man 39 00:02:24,920 --> 00:02:28,780 AM? So they said some say John the 40 00:02:28,790 --> 00:02:33,090 Baptist, some Elijah, others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. 41 00:02:34,060 --> 00:02:37,570 Alright, there are a lot of different views about who Jesus 42 00:02:37,580 --> 00:02:39,870 is, right? Lots of people will say lots of 43 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:41,770 different things. You know, Muslim people believe 44 00:02:41,780 --> 00:02:44,410 that he was a prophet. Some people will say, well, he, 45 00:02:44,420 --> 00:02:49,300 he was a great teacher. Some people will say he was just 46 00:02:49,310 --> 00:02:52,750 a, a historical figure. Lots of different, different 47 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:56,160 ideas, right? But he said to them verse 15. 48 00:02:56,650 --> 00:03:01,770 But who do you say that I am Simon Peter answered Simon 49 00:03:01,780 --> 00:03:03,890 Peter. So it's pretty common. 50 00:03:03,900 --> 00:03:06,470 It's it's common in today's world as well for people who 51 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:10,160 live in societies where multiple languages are used to have more 52 00:03:10,170 --> 00:03:13,070 than one one name. When we lived in Korea, a lot of 53 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:16,230 Korean people will have a Korean name and they'll have a have an 54 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:18,450 English name, right, because Korean names are harder for 55 00:03:18,500 --> 00:03:20,980 English people to pronounce English speaking speakers to 56 00:03:20,990 --> 00:03:23,770 pronounce. So his name is Simon. 57 00:03:23,780 --> 00:03:26,010 This is Hebrew, the Hebrew version of his name, which means 58 00:03:26,020 --> 00:03:29,210 a small stone. And also Peter, also known as 59 00:03:29,220 --> 00:03:31,470 Peter, which also means a small stone. 60 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:34,450 So that's kind of the the Greek version of of Simon. 61 00:03:34,540 --> 00:03:38,120 So he answered one of the symbols and he said, you are the 62 00:03:38,130 --> 00:03:41,900 Christ, you are the Christ right? 63 00:03:41,970 --> 00:03:45,050 Now that's that's the Greek version of Hebrew, the Hebrew 64 00:03:45,060 --> 00:03:47,860 word Messiah, right? We probably reasonably familiar 65 00:03:47,870 --> 00:03:50,950 with that word. Messiah means anointed 1 66 00:03:51,030 --> 00:03:54,140 appointed one kind of promised one, right? 67 00:03:54,150 --> 00:03:57,780 And so all through the Old Testament, the Bible talks about 68 00:03:57,990 --> 00:04:00,440 talks about how God would send this anointed one, this 69 00:04:00,450 --> 00:04:04,260 appointed one, this promised one, this Messiah to come and 70 00:04:04,270 --> 00:04:08,290 save his people. And so Peter goes, that's you, 71 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:10,610 the one that the Old Testament talks about, right? 72 00:04:10,700 --> 00:04:14,140 You, you're the Christ, you're the Messiah, the Son of the 73 00:04:14,150 --> 00:04:18,000 living God, right? And incredibly, incredibly 74 00:04:18,010 --> 00:04:20,320 powerful statement, probably one of the most powerful statements 75 00:04:20,329 --> 00:04:25,360 that Peter ever made. And Jesus said to him, blessed, 76 00:04:25,850 --> 00:04:27,960 right. Blessed's kind of a religious 77 00:04:27,970 --> 00:04:29,910 word, isn't it? We don't use it too much out of 78 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:32,140 that, you know, we'll say I'm, I'm very blessed, you know, I'm 79 00:04:32,150 --> 00:04:35,360 very blessed today for that. But but the word actually means 80 00:04:35,410 --> 00:04:37,870 happy. That's that's kind of generally 81 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:40,060 what it means. Happy, very happy, most happy. 82 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:44,380 There can also in context give the idea of to be congratulated 83 00:04:45,310 --> 00:04:47,260 right? Like well done to be 84 00:04:47,270 --> 00:04:50,060 congratulated, he says well done right happy. 85 00:04:50,070 --> 00:04:54,960 Are you Simon Bar Jonah for flesh and blood has not revealed 86 00:04:54,970 --> 00:04:57,060 this to you, but my father who is in heaven. 87 00:04:57,510 --> 00:05:01,930 All right, so he uses his full name here, Simon Barjona. 88 00:05:01,940 --> 00:05:04,690 You see Bar or Ben that that just means sun off. 89 00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:09,950 So he's saying Simon's son of Jonah, he says, well done, 90 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:12,410 happy. Are you Simon, son of Jonah? 91 00:05:12,420 --> 00:05:15,110 This is and he's saying, look, this is not something that 92 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:18,450 somebody has taught you. This is not something that you 93 00:05:18,510 --> 00:05:20,580 just learned growing up. This is not something that your 94 00:05:20,590 --> 00:05:24,640 dad, Jonah, taught you. This is something that my dad 95 00:05:24,710 --> 00:05:27,840 taught you. Hi, this is kind of a quite a 96 00:05:27,850 --> 00:05:31,800 powerful statement, right? And what is and what is Jesus 97 00:05:31,810 --> 00:05:33,800 Dad, God the Father, right? He's son of the living God. 98 00:05:33,810 --> 00:05:36,500 What is the the living God taught Peter that Jesus is the 99 00:05:36,510 --> 00:05:39,200 Christ, the son of the living God. 100 00:05:39,290 --> 00:05:41,670 And Jesus goes on to say he says, look, your Peter, right, 101 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:45,960 you're a small stone on this rock on this big rock. 102 00:05:46,030 --> 00:05:48,500 What big rock that he's the Christ, the son of the living 103 00:05:48,510 --> 00:05:50,320 God. I'll build my church and the 104 00:05:50,330 --> 00:05:52,160 gates of hell. Hell will not prevail against 105 00:05:52,170 --> 00:05:55,160 it. Sorry, first part of that 106 00:05:55,170 --> 00:05:56,600 question, right? Who is Jesus? 107 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:00,050 He's the Messiah, right? The one the Old Testament 108 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:02,810 repeatedly promised would come and save his people. 109 00:06:02,980 --> 00:06:04,760 And he's the Son of the living God. 110 00:06:05,530 --> 00:06:10,120 So let's rewind about another almost 1500 years before Jesus 111 00:06:10,490 --> 00:06:14,610 to Exodus chapter 3. And the context here is that 112 00:06:14,980 --> 00:06:17,740 God's people are are still in slavery in Egypt. 113 00:06:18,580 --> 00:06:25,220 No hope, no way out. 40 years before this, Moses had wanted to 114 00:06:25,230 --> 00:06:30,970 lead them out and but they they had rejected that and he had 115 00:06:30,980 --> 00:06:34,770 fled the country as a fugitive, wanted for murder, right, which 116 00:06:34,780 --> 00:06:37,410 he he was guilty of. So it didn't. 117 00:06:37,420 --> 00:06:41,090 It didn't go well. And so after living as a 118 00:06:41,100 --> 00:06:45,430 fugitive for in the desert for 40 years, in fact, the Bible 119 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:47,210 calls it the backside of the desert, right? 120 00:06:47,220 --> 00:06:49,630 So that sounds like a pretty bad place, right? 121 00:06:49,670 --> 00:06:52,810 For 40 years. He sees his burning Bush and he 122 00:06:52,820 --> 00:06:56,610 goes to investigate and he finds himself in the very presence of 123 00:06:56,620 --> 00:06:59,090 God. God tells him, Moses, I want you 124 00:06:59,100 --> 00:07:02,170 to go back to Egypt and I want to get, I want you to get my 125 00:07:02,180 --> 00:07:04,890 people out of slavery. Leave my people out of slavery. 126 00:07:06,150 --> 00:07:09,260 And for lots of very good reasons, Moses doesn't want to 127 00:07:09,270 --> 00:07:11,600 go. And so we picked this up and 128 00:07:11,610 --> 00:07:15,310 Exodus chapter 3 and this 13 if you want to follow along. 129 00:07:16,170 --> 00:07:20,580 So it's just then Moses said to God, if I come to the people of 130 00:07:20,590 --> 00:07:23,690 Israel and I say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me 131 00:07:23,700 --> 00:07:25,900 to you, and they asked me, what's his name? 132 00:07:25,990 --> 00:07:28,060 What shall I say to them? Right. 133 00:07:28,130 --> 00:07:32,280 So Moses is thinking, I don't know enough to do this. 134 00:07:32,650 --> 00:07:34,320 I don't. I wasn't even raised in Hebrew 135 00:07:34,330 --> 00:07:36,080 culture. They, they see me like an 136 00:07:36,090 --> 00:07:37,420 Egyptian. That's why I didn't go. 137 00:07:37,490 --> 00:07:39,180 You know, they didn't follow me last time. 138 00:07:39,390 --> 00:07:42,760 I didn't even know what your correct name is. 139 00:07:42,990 --> 00:07:47,100 If they ask me his God's response, there's 14. 140 00:07:47,850 --> 00:07:53,170 God said to Moses, I am who I am, and he said, say this to the 141 00:07:53,180 --> 00:07:56,830 people of Israel. I am has sent me to you. 142 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:00,050 So this this is the title of God. 143 00:08:00,060 --> 00:08:04,040 I am I exist, right? It's kind of hard to get your 144 00:08:04,050 --> 00:08:07,750 head around the way people in there in the Old Testament tried 145 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:10,310 to get their heads around. This is often seen in this 146 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:12,530 phrase that you'll see over and over and over again in the 147 00:08:12,540 --> 00:08:13,840 Bible. And here's one example of it 148 00:08:13,850 --> 00:08:18,660 from some chapter 90, verse 2. Since this, before the mountains 149 00:08:18,670 --> 00:08:22,280 were brought forth or ever you had formed the earth in the 150 00:08:22,290 --> 00:08:28,170 world from everlasting to everlasting, you are God, right? 151 00:08:28,180 --> 00:08:30,340 And you'll see that phrase repeated over and over, right? 152 00:08:30,410 --> 00:08:33,090 God dwells outside of time. Even before there was a wild and 153 00:08:33,100 --> 00:08:38,120 all the stuff that's created, God was there right everlasting 154 00:08:38,970 --> 00:08:42,990 to everlasting. I am not exists. 155 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:45,950 So going back to our question, who is Jesus? 156 00:08:46,300 --> 00:08:49,860 When Jesus asked the disciples who they thought he was, Peter 157 00:08:49,870 --> 00:08:53,530 said that he's the Messiah. He's the son of the living God. 158 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:56,410 And Jesus says well done. Yep, happy are you? 159 00:08:56,480 --> 00:08:59,730 That's correct. But what did Jesus say about 160 00:08:59,740 --> 00:09:02,620 himself? You know what he himself say? 161 00:09:02,630 --> 00:09:06,640 So let's go to John chapter 8. We're gonna be in in John 7:00 162 00:09:06,650 --> 00:09:09,700 and 8:00 this morning, but let's just jump to the further along 163 00:09:09,710 --> 00:09:12,700 in John chapter 8. The the context here is, is 164 00:09:12,710 --> 00:09:17,140 Jesus is explaining to a group of Jewish people that he is sent 165 00:09:17,150 --> 00:09:20,590 by God the Father, right? And that kind of pushing back on 166 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:22,840 that. And there's this sort of 167 00:09:22,850 --> 00:09:27,160 conversation going on. And so we pick it up in in verse 168 00:09:27,170 --> 00:09:32,680 56, John 8, verse 56. And Jesus, is this your father 169 00:09:32,690 --> 00:09:36,570 Abraham, right? Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced 170 00:09:36,580 --> 00:09:41,330 that he would see my day. He saw it and he was glad. 171 00:09:42,810 --> 00:09:45,620 So the judge said to him, you're not 50 years old and have you 172 00:09:45,630 --> 00:09:48,880 seen Abraham, right? So this is a very confusing 173 00:09:48,890 --> 00:09:52,670 conversation, right? So I thinking, what are you even 174 00:09:52,680 --> 00:09:55,880 talking about? Abraham died generations ago. 175 00:09:55,890 --> 00:09:59,190 You're not even 50, right? Have you have you seen Abraham? 176 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:00,760 You're telling us you've seen Abraham? 177 00:10:02,310 --> 00:10:07,980 His answer was 58. Jesus said to them, Truly, 178 00:10:07,990 --> 00:10:13,340 truly, I say to you before Abraham was I am. 179 00:10:14,900 --> 00:10:17,150 Ohh. Whoa. 180 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:18,890 Does that mean what we think it means? 181 00:10:19,220 --> 00:10:22,180 Yeah. Well, how did the Jews at the 182 00:10:22,190 --> 00:10:24,320 time, listening to it at the time, take it. 183 00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:28,520 Look at verse 59. So they picked up stones to 184 00:10:28,530 --> 00:10:32,140 stone him, but Jesus was hidden, then went out of the temple. 185 00:10:32,210 --> 00:10:34,380 They knew exactly what he was saying. 186 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:38,560 Yeah, what's he saying? Ohh, God, right? 187 00:10:38,570 --> 00:10:39,960 I am. I am the I am. 188 00:10:39,970 --> 00:10:44,140 I'm the same God that sent Moses back to to get Jewish people out 189 00:10:44,150 --> 00:10:45,700 of slavery. I am God. 190 00:10:45,770 --> 00:10:48,820 Who is Jesus? He's the Messiah. 191 00:10:48,890 --> 00:10:53,620 He's the Son of the living God. He is God, He is gone. 192 00:10:53,630 --> 00:10:57,620 He's the I am. Alright, so let's go back to 193 00:10:57,630 --> 00:11:01,120 Chapter 7. We are told at the start of this 194 00:11:01,170 --> 00:11:05,710 this chapter that Jesus brothers didn't believe that he was the 195 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:08,880 Messiah, right. So the the the like I say the 196 00:11:08,890 --> 00:11:11,700 autism talks repeatedly about this Messiah character that's 197 00:11:11,710 --> 00:11:14,700 gonna come save his people. And this is his own brothers 198 00:11:14,710 --> 00:11:16,910 didn't believe at this point, didn't believe that he was the 199 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:19,300 Messiah. Also really important. 200 00:11:19,310 --> 00:11:21,940 It's kind of lost on us a little bit, but this whole thing was 201 00:11:21,950 --> 00:11:24,220 happening. John 7 around the time of the 202 00:11:24,230 --> 00:11:27,260 Feast of Tabernacle's sometimes feast of Tabernacle, sometimes 203 00:11:27,270 --> 00:11:29,840 called the Feast of booths or even the Feast of huts. 204 00:11:30,010 --> 00:11:33,120 Sometimes. This was a the last of seven 205 00:11:33,130 --> 00:11:36,840 feasts that the Jews were commanded to commemorate. 206 00:11:36,930 --> 00:11:40,100 It was a week long celebration in the autumn. 207 00:11:40,110 --> 00:11:42,980 So that's around September in the northern hemisphere and 208 00:11:42,990 --> 00:11:45,180 right at the end of the last harvest for the year. 209 00:11:45,250 --> 00:11:47,700 And they would, they would have this celebration and they would 210 00:11:47,710 --> 00:11:50,540 go and they would live in hearts for a week, right? 211 00:11:50,550 --> 00:11:52,720 So you'd build a little, they still do this right in your 212 00:11:52,730 --> 00:11:55,280 backyard or on your rooftop or in the park somewhere and go 213 00:11:55,290 --> 00:11:58,260 and, and go and stay in the Hut for a week. 214 00:11:58,470 --> 00:12:02,700 The idea of it was to remember God's provision and protection 215 00:12:02,790 --> 00:12:05,900 and guidance during their escape from Egypt into the promised 216 00:12:05,910 --> 00:12:07,430 land, right? So that whole time in Sinai, 217 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:09,400 they were living in these, in these makeshift huts. 218 00:12:09,590 --> 00:12:14,840 If you remember the story back in Sinai, God led them as a 219 00:12:14,850 --> 00:12:19,550 pillar of fire. So during Jesus time, as part of 220 00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:23,010 this celebration, right, remembering back to Sinai, 221 00:12:23,020 --> 00:12:25,770 remembering when God led them through the desert, remembering 222 00:12:25,780 --> 00:12:29,850 when he was a a pillar of fire, they would put up 420 metre tall 223 00:12:29,860 --> 00:12:32,130 towers, right? That's that's those are huge 224 00:12:32,140 --> 00:12:34,550 towers. And on top of each tower was one 225 00:12:34,560 --> 00:12:37,060 of those, you know, the menorah, those Jewish candle stands with 226 00:12:37,070 --> 00:12:42,050 the, the seven kind of spokes on them, right, giant ones on top 227 00:12:42,060 --> 00:12:44,650 of these four towers. And they would like these things 228 00:12:44,660 --> 00:12:47,730 up every night during the week long festival. 229 00:12:47,820 --> 00:12:50,130 You could see them for miles, right. 230 00:12:50,140 --> 00:12:52,310 So I guess for us, it's a bit like, you know, when you drive 231 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:55,090 past kind of stadium, FMG stadium there when there's a 232 00:12:55,100 --> 00:12:57,080 game on, you know, they got the big lights going. 233 00:12:57,270 --> 00:13:00,460 So you know, the Temple Mount, you know, it's on the hill and 234 00:13:00,470 --> 00:13:01,860 you could just see this for miles. 235 00:13:01,870 --> 00:13:03,660 You could see, see these, these massive lights. 236 00:13:03,670 --> 00:13:06,690 And I would like these every night for the for the week of 237 00:13:06,700 --> 00:13:10,700 the festival of Tabernacle. But this, this feast and this 238 00:13:10,830 --> 00:13:14,780 celebration and these bright lights also celebrated something 239 00:13:14,790 --> 00:13:17,980 else, a prophecy from Isaiah Chapter 9. 240 00:13:18,700 --> 00:13:21,970 So the people who lived in this region which would come to be 241 00:13:21,980 --> 00:13:25,940 known as Galilee in Jesus time, they saw some very gloomy times, 242 00:13:26,630 --> 00:13:31,180 invasions, people taking into captivity occupations or all 243 00:13:31,190 --> 00:13:33,580 kinds of things. But in the midst of all this 244 00:13:33,590 --> 00:13:37,310 gloominess was a promise of hope from Isaiah Chapter 9. 245 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:40,540 And here is here is the promise that starts off saying this. 246 00:13:40,590 --> 00:13:43,500 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great 247 00:13:43,510 --> 00:13:45,970 light. Those who dwelled in a land of 248 00:13:45,980 --> 00:13:49,320 deep darkness, on them has light shine. 249 00:13:50,220 --> 00:13:52,830 Dropping down to verse 6 here. And I9 says this. 250 00:13:52,900 --> 00:13:58,180 For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the 251 00:13:58,190 --> 00:14:02,030 government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be 252 00:14:02,040 --> 00:14:05,240 called. Wonderful Councillor mighty God, 253 00:14:06,130 --> 00:14:10,550 everlasting Father, Prince of Peace of the increase of His 254 00:14:10,560 --> 00:14:13,640 government and of peace. There will be no end on the 255 00:14:13,650 --> 00:14:16,610 throne of David and over His Kingdom to establish it and to 256 00:14:16,620 --> 00:14:19,990 uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time 257 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:24,380 forth and forever more. The zeal or that the intense 258 00:14:24,390 --> 00:14:27,440 passion right of the Lord of hosts will do this. 259 00:14:27,500 --> 00:14:31,270 This is going to happen right And so this is the lighting 260 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:34,000 these lights as well as remembering that God had led 261 00:14:34,010 --> 00:14:35,570 them in the past. You know, as a pillar of fire 262 00:14:35,580 --> 00:14:38,520 when they were in the in the desert also looked forward to, 263 00:14:38,590 --> 00:14:41,270 to the fulfilment of this prophecy, right, That are people 264 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:45,150 living in a very dark place would receive this life like 265 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:50,490 this, this sun, this number 9 Becky Beck and John John 7 verse 266 00:14:50,500 --> 00:14:54,610 #9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee. 267 00:14:54,620 --> 00:14:57,930 Jesus remained in Galilee, but after his brothers had gone up 268 00:14:57,940 --> 00:15:00,130 to the feast, right. So they went up to Jerusalem for 269 00:15:00,140 --> 00:15:03,010 the feast. Then he also went up, but not 270 00:15:03,020 --> 00:15:04,990 publicly in private. So his brothers were left and 271 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:06,570 went to the feast. He didn't go with him, but then 272 00:15:06,580 --> 00:15:09,850 he just sort of left by himself and didn't tell anyone about it. 273 00:15:10,020 --> 00:15:13,000 So people in Galilee started wondering where he went. 274 00:15:13,690 --> 00:15:16,760 And this conversation started. Who was Jesus? 275 00:15:16,820 --> 00:15:17,780 Who is this guy? Right. 276 00:15:17,790 --> 00:15:19,620 And some people thought he was a good guy. 277 00:15:19,710 --> 00:15:22,500 Some people thought he was tricking the people and that 278 00:15:22,510 --> 00:15:24,900 they're kind of having this discussion about who is he? 279 00:15:24,910 --> 00:15:27,360 Who is this guy? Anyway, Jesus is down in 280 00:15:27,370 --> 00:15:29,880 Jerusalem midway through the week, through this week long 281 00:15:29,890 --> 00:15:31,820 festival, He goes into the temple. 282 00:15:31,830 --> 00:15:34,700 John 714 tells us this. In the middle of the feast, 283 00:15:34,750 --> 00:15:37,440 Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. 284 00:15:38,260 --> 00:15:42,150 And so Jesus teaches there and at the end of his teaching says 285 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:46,400 this first number 19, he says, has not Moses given you the law 286 00:15:46,460 --> 00:15:48,370 yet? None of you keeps the law. 287 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:51,370 Why do you seek to kill me, right. 288 00:15:51,380 --> 00:15:53,830 So there's this plot to kill Jesus. 289 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:57,810 But Jesus knows about it, right? And he he outs their plot. 290 00:15:57,860 --> 00:16:00,880 He says you know who you know, none of you are following the 291 00:16:00,890 --> 00:16:03,030 law of Moses. Moses given you, you don't 292 00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:05,050 follow it because you're trying to kill me. 293 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:08,960 It must have really freaked them out when they realised that he 294 00:16:08,970 --> 00:16:12,350 knew about their plot. So after this, more discussions 295 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:15,000 take place among the people down in Jerusalem and people are 296 00:16:15,010 --> 00:16:19,040 saying who is Jesus and why do the religious leaders want to 297 00:16:19,050 --> 00:16:21,870 kill him? Yet when he calls them out on 298 00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:26,790 stuff, why won't they touch him? Maybe it's because he really is 299 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:29,280 the Messiah and they know it, right? 300 00:16:29,290 --> 00:16:31,000 And so people have started having these discussions. 301 00:16:31,010 --> 00:16:32,910 Who is he? Maybe he is the Messiah, you 302 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:36,260 know, religiously, you know and and and way this conversation 303 00:16:36,270 --> 00:16:40,860 goes dropping down to verse 31. Yet many of the people believed 304 00:16:40,870 --> 00:16:42,700 in him. They said when the Christ 305 00:16:42,710 --> 00:16:44,400 appears, right? When the Messiah appears, when 306 00:16:44,410 --> 00:16:47,410 he, when he arrives, well, he do more signs than this man has 307 00:16:47,420 --> 00:16:49,570 done. Alright, so they're saying, 308 00:16:49,580 --> 00:16:52,540 look, I can't imagine that the Messiah could do anymore 309 00:16:52,550 --> 00:16:56,020 miracles than this guy does. It's gotta be him, right? 310 00:16:56,880 --> 00:17:01,540 It must be him. John 737 tells us that this we 311 00:17:01,550 --> 00:17:03,920 get to the last day of the face. It's the very last day of the 312 00:17:03,930 --> 00:17:06,869 feast. So tonight is the last day, the 313 00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:09,839 last night that the big candles are gonna be lit. 314 00:17:10,210 --> 00:17:14,130 Tomorrow will be very dark. Another year of Roman 315 00:17:14,140 --> 00:17:18,630 occupation. No end insight, no way out, no 316 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:22,579 hope. More gloom, but what for one 317 00:17:22,589 --> 00:17:25,980 particular person thinks about the about to turn very, very 318 00:17:25,990 --> 00:17:31,520 dark? Verse 53 says this, they went 319 00:17:31,530 --> 00:17:34,240 each to his own house, right? So this is the last night of the 320 00:17:34,250 --> 00:17:35,680 feast. So they get everybody went home 321 00:17:35,910 --> 00:17:38,120 to their own place. But Jesus went to the Mount of 322 00:17:38,130 --> 00:17:43,800 Olives early in the morning. He came again to the temple, all 323 00:17:43,810 --> 00:17:47,730 the people came to him and he sat down and he taught them. 324 00:17:47,860 --> 00:17:51,150 Alright, so a fairly normal day for Jesus. 325 00:17:51,890 --> 00:17:57,280 However, the religious leaders plot to kill Jesus has been 326 00:17:57,290 --> 00:18:01,740 exposed. But they weren't done. 327 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:04,830 They weren't done. Jesus is teaching a crowd of 328 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:08,610 people in the temple right on the temple grounds, and they 329 00:18:08,620 --> 00:18:13,380 need to put an end to that. So here's what happens. 330 00:18:14,030 --> 00:18:17,850 There's #3 the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who 331 00:18:17,860 --> 00:18:21,270 had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst, they 332 00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:24,470 said to him, Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of 333 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:26,530 adultery. Greek phrasing there is like in 334 00:18:26,540 --> 00:18:30,630 the very act of adultery. She's been caught in the very 335 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:33,850 act. That being the case, right, She 336 00:18:33,860 --> 00:18:37,490 was caught in the very act. There's a huge question here, 337 00:18:37,500 --> 00:18:40,310 isn't there? What's the question? 338 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:43,170 Here's the question that comes into my mind. 339 00:18:44,460 --> 00:18:49,280 Where's the guy? Right, Caught in the very act. 340 00:18:51,180 --> 00:18:54,160 This was a setup. This was a setup. 341 00:18:54,250 --> 00:18:54,780 Why? What? 342 00:18:54,790 --> 00:18:57,020 What are they trying to achieve through this? 343 00:18:57,090 --> 00:19:02,590 Here's what they say. There's #5 Now the Law of Moses 344 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:04,740 commanded us to stone such women. 345 00:19:05,980 --> 00:19:10,600 So what do you say the 6th This they said to test him that they 346 00:19:10,610 --> 00:19:13,160 might have some charge to bring against him. 347 00:19:13,310 --> 00:19:17,770 Because she stands guilty before the law, right? 348 00:19:17,780 --> 00:19:20,760 Yes, this was a set up and she was likely being used by the 349 00:19:20,770 --> 00:19:24,790 religious leaders for nefarious purposes, but she's also not not 350 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:26,630 innocent. We'll we'll see that in a in 351 00:19:26,690 --> 00:19:28,490 shortly, right? She chose to sleep with a 352 00:19:28,500 --> 00:19:29,920 married man rather than her own husband. 353 00:19:30,690 --> 00:19:33,860 And here is the gloom, right here is the darkness. 354 00:19:34,210 --> 00:19:37,030 In this the law reveals our guilt. 355 00:19:38,750 --> 00:19:42,850 The law reveals our guilt. All of us stand guilty before 356 00:19:42,860 --> 00:19:45,830 the law. And yes, all of us have been 357 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:49,880 affected by the sinfulness of others, but all of us have also 358 00:19:49,890 --> 00:19:53,640 made our own simple decisions. And the law is very clear. 359 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:57,190 And So what they're trying to do here is they put Jesus in this 360 00:19:57,200 --> 00:20:01,810 position where if he says stone here, Yep, take away Stoner, you 361 00:20:01,820 --> 00:20:04,810 know, do it. People think, man, that's not, 362 00:20:05,570 --> 00:20:07,730 that's not the compassion, that's that's not compassionate, 363 00:20:07,740 --> 00:20:09,800 that's not loving. I don't I don't understand. 364 00:20:09,810 --> 00:20:13,220 Right. And and he'll lose the favour of 365 00:20:13,230 --> 00:20:15,680 the crowd. But if he says no, don't stone 366 00:20:15,690 --> 00:20:18,740 her, then he's saying, well, you don't have to obey the law, 367 00:20:18,810 --> 00:20:20,920 right? It's just a suggestion that it's 368 00:20:20,930 --> 00:20:24,660 fine, which will also lose favour with the people, right. 369 00:20:24,790 --> 00:20:27,700 The goal here is to get the people to turn against Jesus, 370 00:20:27,790 --> 00:20:29,300 right? Their plot to kill him has been 371 00:20:29,490 --> 00:20:31,920 unmasked. So they're they're they're plan 372 00:20:31,930 --> 00:20:33,570 now just to get the people to turn against them. 373 00:20:34,410 --> 00:20:39,080 This number six continues Jesus bent down and wrote with his 374 00:20:39,090 --> 00:20:42,950 finger on the ground. What did he write? 375 00:20:43,730 --> 00:20:46,130 What do you write on the ground? We don't know. 376 00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:48,790 The Bible doesn't tell us what he wrote down. 377 00:20:48,940 --> 00:20:52,160 But the word for wrote that John uses here is not the usual Greek 378 00:20:52,170 --> 00:20:55,480 word for writing. The usual word is graphin, which 379 00:20:55,490 --> 00:20:57,940 means the write down. That's where we get our word 380 00:20:57,950 --> 00:21:01,150 graphics from. But the word he uses here is 381 00:21:01,220 --> 00:21:04,170 Kathy Gryphon, right? Which means to write down a 382 00:21:04,180 --> 00:21:09,900 record against and. It's an accounting term and when 383 00:21:09,910 --> 00:21:12,410 you owed somebody something, they would write your name down 384 00:21:12,420 --> 00:21:15,060 and then write down next to what you own, right? 385 00:21:15,070 --> 00:21:17,970 So that that's the that's the word that John uses. 386 00:21:18,110 --> 00:21:21,940 So a lot of people think that maybe Jesus was writing down the 387 00:21:21,950 --> 00:21:25,760 names of the accusers here and a list of sins next to them, 388 00:21:26,470 --> 00:21:27,240 right? We don't know. 389 00:21:27,250 --> 00:21:30,480 The Bible doesn't tell us. But you know, a lot of people 390 00:21:30,490 --> 00:21:36,200 think maybe that's the case. Verse #7 And as they continued 391 00:21:36,210 --> 00:21:39,470 to ask him, he stood up, and he said to them, Let him who is 392 00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:43,360 without sin among you, be the first to throw a stone at her. 393 00:21:45,470 --> 00:21:48,420 Now Jesus is going after something that is true for all 394 00:21:48,430 --> 00:21:51,790 of us, which which is this right? 395 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:54,630 Because when we think about these people, right, we think 396 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:58,610 about these men there, these accusers, we think what judge 397 00:21:58,620 --> 00:22:02,150 mental arrogant people, right? And rightly so. 398 00:22:03,370 --> 00:22:06,220 But they have the same problem that all of us have, right? 399 00:22:06,230 --> 00:22:09,340 Which is this. It's incredibly easy to see 400 00:22:09,350 --> 00:22:12,280 other people's sense and overlook our own sins in the 401 00:22:12,290 --> 00:22:15,840 mirror. You even noticed that it is. 402 00:22:15,850 --> 00:22:18,910 It's much easier to to look at people and go they just need to 403 00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:20,760 be doing this. They should be doing that and, 404 00:22:20,770 --> 00:22:25,000 and miss our own sense, not, not saying Obama has a lot to say 405 00:22:25,010 --> 00:22:27,000 about this and Jesus has a lot to say about this. 406 00:22:27,150 --> 00:22:33,170 Maybe you've noticed that verse #8 And once more he bent down 407 00:22:33,180 --> 00:22:34,570 and he wrote on the ground. Same word. 408 00:22:35,340 --> 00:22:39,790 It's writing an account. But when they heard it, they 409 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:43,960 went away, 1 by 1, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus 410 00:22:43,970 --> 00:22:46,110 was left alone with the woman standing before him. 411 00:22:47,730 --> 00:22:49,710 Was she guilty? Yes, she was. 412 00:22:51,430 --> 00:22:55,710 Things looked very gloomy and dark without hope. 413 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:59,840 The law was clear. See, the law reveals our guilt. 414 00:23:01,070 --> 00:23:05,040 But here's the cool thing. The love reveals God's grace. 415 00:23:08,490 --> 00:23:13,620 There's #10 Jesus stood up and said to a woman, Where are they? 416 00:23:13,710 --> 00:23:16,780 There's no one condemned you, she said. 417 00:23:16,790 --> 00:23:20,670 No one will, Jesus said. Neither do I condemn you. 418 00:23:21,140 --> 00:23:23,380 Go, and from now on, send no more. 419 00:23:24,550 --> 00:23:26,090 Alright? All right. 420 00:23:26,100 --> 00:23:27,980 Sin, no more. So despite everything that's 421 00:23:27,990 --> 00:23:31,180 gone on, she is still guilty. He doesn't excuse her sin. 422 00:23:32,450 --> 00:23:35,020 We tend to do that with our son. We go, yeah, I, I did this. 423 00:23:35,030 --> 00:23:37,480 But you know, you have to understand this was the 424 00:23:37,490 --> 00:23:38,900 circumstance. This is what happened. 425 00:23:39,170 --> 00:23:40,780 You know, I have a I had a tough time. 426 00:23:40,830 --> 00:23:43,080 I had a tough upbringing. I did you know, and we we tend 427 00:23:43,090 --> 00:23:47,640 to excuse us in the way Jesus doesn't excuse it away, but he 428 00:23:47,650 --> 00:23:51,710 says you're not condemned, you know, condemned Romans 8/1. 429 00:23:52,660 --> 00:23:56,210 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are 430 00:23:56,220 --> 00:23:59,440 in Christ Jesus. Are we guilty? 431 00:23:59,750 --> 00:24:03,590 Yes we are. Do we deserve condemnation? 432 00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:06,140 Yes we do. But if we're in Christ Jesus, 433 00:24:06,150 --> 00:24:08,030 then ultimately we are not condemned. 434 00:24:08,750 --> 00:24:10,730 Does that mean sin doesn't have consequences? 435 00:24:10,790 --> 00:24:13,930 Yes, it does. Sin does have consequences, but 436 00:24:13,940 --> 00:24:16,720 it doesn't have the eternal consequence of separating us 437 00:24:16,730 --> 00:24:19,380 from God. So what does all that mean? 438 00:24:19,390 --> 00:24:19,770 Right? What? 439 00:24:19,780 --> 00:24:21,620 What does all this mean? It's it's a great story, but 440 00:24:21,630 --> 00:24:25,780 what does it all mean? It means you are not defined by 441 00:24:25,790 --> 00:24:31,630 your sin. It means you are not defined by 442 00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:37,180 what you did. It means you're not what they 443 00:24:37,190 --> 00:24:42,090 say you are. It means God's grace changes 444 00:24:42,100 --> 00:24:47,010 everything because you are who he says you are. 445 00:24:49,620 --> 00:24:54,780 Now Satan, as our accuser will tell us, after what you did, God 446 00:24:54,790 --> 00:24:58,370 could never love you. After how badly you messed up, 447 00:24:59,110 --> 00:25:03,470 God can never forgive you. After everything you've done, 448 00:25:03,620 --> 00:25:04,950 you can never have a good marriage. 449 00:25:06,650 --> 00:25:09,770 And on and on and on, right? But look what Jesus says, verse 450 00:25:09,780 --> 00:25:17,700 #12 And Jesus spoke to them saying, I am alright, don't miss 451 00:25:17,710 --> 00:25:22,800 it, don't miss it, I am. But this time, he expands on it. 452 00:25:23,750 --> 00:25:28,430 He expands on it. The Gingers spoke to them, 453 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:31,590 saying I am the light of the world. 454 00:25:31,660 --> 00:25:35,550 Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the 455 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:41,210 light of life. See, here's the thing, The light 456 00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:45,940 reveals our hope. Jesus told her you don't have to 457 00:25:45,950 --> 00:25:48,990 live like this anymore. He said, neither do I condemn 458 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:51,560 you. Go and from now on send no more. 459 00:25:51,630 --> 00:25:53,600 There is a sense of urgency in that word. 460 00:25:53,610 --> 00:25:55,920 Go, go, go now. Go, go now. 461 00:25:55,930 --> 00:25:57,610 Some some translations will translate it. 462 00:25:57,620 --> 00:26:01,990 Go now, right? It's kind of urgent you are 463 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:05,800 freed from this. If you are into something that 464 00:26:05,810 --> 00:26:08,420 you shouldn't be, you are not trapped there, right? 465 00:26:08,490 --> 00:26:11,100 Go now. Go now, right? 466 00:26:11,150 --> 00:26:14,570 Jesus brings hope. In fact, he said this later on 467 00:26:14,580 --> 00:26:17,090 in John 12. He said I have come into the 468 00:26:17,100 --> 00:26:21,410 world as a light so that no one who believes in me should stay 469 00:26:21,420 --> 00:26:24,150 in darkness. You know, trap. 470 00:26:25,820 --> 00:26:31,990 The law reveals our guilt. The love reveals God's grace and 471 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:37,380 the light reveals our hope. Jesus was the fulfilment of that 472 00:26:37,390 --> 00:26:40,770 prophecy and I in those iron 9 in the land of gloom and 473 00:26:40,780 --> 00:26:43,340 darkness without hope. Jesus was the light of the 474 00:26:43,350 --> 00:26:46,050 world. It's no coincidence that the 475 00:26:46,060 --> 00:26:49,770 lights have been turned off. Festival was over, lights are 476 00:26:49,780 --> 00:26:52,970 out, and Jesus says this the very next day. 477 00:26:54,750 --> 00:26:58,000 Who is Jesus? He's the Messiah. 478 00:26:58,370 --> 00:27:03,080 He's the Son of the living God. He is God and He's the light of 479 00:27:03,090 --> 00:27:08,740 the world. At the point where Jesus said I 480 00:27:08,750 --> 00:27:14,750 don't condemn you, he went from being the light of the world to 481 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:24,320 being the light of her world. Here's the question for us. 482 00:27:24,330 --> 00:27:27,100 Is he your hope? Ohh, you trusting in something 483 00:27:27,110 --> 00:27:29,290 else? You trusting in something else? 484 00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:34,530 He offers forgiveness, right? He offers grace, something you 485 00:27:34,540 --> 00:27:39,220 don't deserve if you've never accepted their forgiveness, if 486 00:27:39,230 --> 00:27:44,240 you've never turned to him and insidious sorry, do that, make 487 00:27:44,250 --> 00:27:47,480 that connection right. You stand guilty before the law. 488 00:27:47,530 --> 00:27:49,830 All of us do. You stand guilty, but he's 489 00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:53,420 offering a light cause he is the light, right? 490 00:27:53,430 --> 00:27:55,850 He's offering hope. He's offering forgiveness. 491 00:27:57,180 --> 00:28:00,690 Maybe you've received that forgiveness and you're in Christ 492 00:28:00,700 --> 00:28:04,170 Jesus, but you're something you shouldn't be, right? 493 00:28:04,580 --> 00:28:08,280 You're not trapped. There is light, there is hope. 494 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:16,300 Jesus is the great I am seven times in the in John's gospel, 495 00:28:17,350 --> 00:28:20,740 Jesus says I am and then he expands on that. 496 00:28:20,950 --> 00:28:22,940 We started out with this one. I am the light of the world. 497 00:28:22,950 --> 00:28:24,710 Cause matter, Ricky, right? And everybody's thinking about 498 00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:26,800 stars and bright lights and all those kind of things. 499 00:28:26,810 --> 00:28:29,960 That was a good place to start. But for the next several weeks, 500 00:28:30,110 --> 00:28:33,120 we're going to look at these statements of Jesus where he 501 00:28:33,130 --> 00:28:36,500 says I am, and then he expands on it and we're gonna pick those 502 00:28:36,510 --> 00:28:41,020 apart and we're gonna see who he is and, and what that means for 503 00:28:41,030 --> 00:28:45,220 us in our everyday life, right? I am. 504 00:28:45,300 --> 00:28:50,460 But this morning, thing is, I am the light of the world, right? 505 00:28:50,470 --> 00:28:54,710 Jesus brings hope. The law reveals our guilt, the 506 00:28:54,720 --> 00:28:59,800 love reveals God's grace, and the light reveals our hope. 507 00:28:59,890 --> 00:29:01,690 This pray and then I'll hand over back to Mark. 508 00:29:04,660 --> 00:29:10,030 Father, we, we thank you that we serve you the living God. 509 00:29:10,900 --> 00:29:16,280 We thank you that Jesus as your son was also the living God, the 510 00:29:16,290 --> 00:29:18,130 great I am. And we thank you for the hope 511 00:29:18,140 --> 00:29:22,610 that that brings, the hope that comes from the knowledge of of 512 00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:27,220 our salvation, of knowing that you have rescued us, that we're 513 00:29:27,230 --> 00:29:29,970 not condemned. We thank you for that, but also 514 00:29:29,980 --> 00:29:35,070 the hope of knowing that our sin doesn't trap us, that you're a 515 00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:37,980 light, you've come, that we don't have to stay in darkness. 516 00:29:37,990 --> 00:29:41,510 And we thank you for that, Lord, thank you for your word. 517 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:46,230 Thank you for these just these incredible things that are in it 518 00:29:46,240 --> 00:29:52,400 that just kind of so hard to get your head around, but it's just 519 00:29:52,410 --> 00:29:56,990 so amazing and just stand out as examples of of what a great God 520 00:29:57,000 --> 00:29:59,510 you are. Also just the whole pattern and 521 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:03,420 the threat of things running for thousands of years through your 522 00:30:03,430 --> 00:30:04,690 word. And thank you for letting us be 523 00:30:04,700 --> 00:30:06,880 a part of what you're doing here at Hockenheim. 524 00:30:07,460 --> 00:30:11,040 Look, thank you for being the light of the world. 525 00:30:11,050 --> 00:30:12,690 Thank you in Jesus name, Amen.