Author: John Johnstone

Sermon: Sunday, 25th August, 2024
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: John 19:16-37

At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, we read that, ‘At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised by John in the Jordan.’ (Mark 1:9) This was actually something shocking, as the river Jordan was the place sinners stood to have their sins symbolically washed away. Jews went there to repent of their wrongdoing. Jesus is standing where sinners ought to stand, even though he is perfect and without sin. Those polluted waters wash over his perfect body. What is Jesus telling us by standing in this river? That he will allow himself to be treated as a sinner, and receive what sinners deserve, in order to bring cleansing and eternal life to his people.

Now fast-forward three years to the end of Jesus’ ministry. Again, we find Jesus in the place of sinners (v18): ‘There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.’ John 19:18) To anyone watching on, it looks like Jesus is being punished for his own wickedness. There’s a row of three crucified men, with Jesus in the middle, the most prominent place, as if he is the worst of the lot. We remember the prophecy in Isaiah, ‘… and was numbered with the transgressors.’ (Isaiah 53:12) The words of Isaiah are coming true. Jesus is identified with rebels, with sinners. But these two men are not the same. One of the criminals begins to understand the difference between them. He says: ‘We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’ (Luke 23:41) So, the criminals on either side of Jesus are getting what they deserve. Why then is Jesus, the perfect Son of God dying in such shame beside them? Isaiah gives us the reason: ‘… because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.’ (Isaiah 53:12) Jesus is getting the punishment we deserve, in order to pay for our sin.

To our shame, we can get too used to the words ‘there they crucified him’. We’ve heard them a million times. But this is the most shocking event in all of human history. We know that crucifixion was so awful that Roman citizens could only be crucified with the explicit permission of the emperor. It was rare. It was a death designed to humiliate and designed to maximise the suffering of the victim. And as well as the unspeakable physical suffering, Jesus endures matchless spiritual suffering, as he becomes sin for us, and is forsaken by his Father. Jesus endures the wrath we ought to receive.

JC Ryle: ‘He that can read a passage like this without a deep sense of our debt to Christ, must have a very cold or a very thoughtless heart. Great must be the love of the Lord Jesus to sinners, when he could voluntarily endure such sufferings for their salvation. Great must be the sinfulness of sin, when such an amount of vicarious suffering was needed in order to provide redemption.’

1. The soldiers’ response to the cross

The soldiers in charge of the crucifixion are oblivious as to the identity of the one dying in the centre. They are also oblivious to the spiritual significance of what is happening. For them, it just seems like an ordinary day’s work. They had probably grown used to crucifying people. For them, Jesus seems like an irrelevant figure; just another trouble-maker getting what he deserves. They had already whipped him, dressed him up as a king to mock him, forced him to carry the crossbeam, nailed him to the cross and hoisted that cross above the ground. They have had their fun at Jesus’ expense and now they want to profit from his death by getting a material benefit – Jesus’ clothes. Each of the four soldiers would receive one item of clothing, but they decide to gamble for Jesus’ undergarment because it would have had little value ripped into four.

This is a tragic scene. These men are missing out on the most precious thing of all, the forgiveness of sin and receiving eternal life. And why? Because they are so distracted by amusing themselves and by living for the here and now. One of them would have received Jesus’ sandals, but missed out eternal life. Another might have received Jesus’ belt, but missed on his love. Still another might have drawn the largest lot, won the seamless garment, and gone home a happy man that day. But what lasting value would a garment give him? They are so near to Christ and yet so far. Today, many hear about Jesus being crucified but are oblivious to its importance. They are distracted by the here and now, by material possessions and by entertainment and social media.

The soldiers are a warning for us. When it comes to Jesus, do not be distracted. Jesus himself warns of this. ‘Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.’ Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.’ (John 5:27-29)

Here’s a challenge for you: are you so caught up in your work, or your own happiness, or your own family life, or your own plans that you are missing out on the true source of lasting joy, peace and life? If so, you are just like the soldiers here and that is a tragedy. Let’s not be like the soldiers, chasing material possessions. But rather, be like one of the dying criminals, who said, ‘Jesus, remember me, when you come into your Kingdom. Don’t live in God’s world, ignoring God.

John is keen for us to know that the soldiers might seem to be in charge of these events, but actually God is in charge. In the Psalms, Psalm 22, the division of Christ’s clothes had been prophesised about 1000 years before it happened: ‘They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.’ (Pslam 22:18) What does this tell us? It tells us that the cross is not an accident of history, but rather the eternal plan of God, in order to rescue lost souls and bring us into his family.

The division of Jesus’ clothes is also a reminder of just how humiliating crucifixion was. The victim would be stripped naked in order to heap shame upon them.

John Calvin: ‘Christ was stripped of His garments that he might clothe us with His righteousness. His naked body was exposed to the insults of men that we might appear with glory before the judgment seat of God.’

Again, here we have the wonderful swap which takes place at the cross – Jesus takes our shame and guilt in order to cover ours and make us whole. ‘God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.’ (2 Corinthians 5:21) We can think of the words of the well-known hymn; And can it be:
‘No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus and all in him is mine;
alive in Him my living head;
and clothed in righteousness divine.

2. Jesus’ matchless compassion and care

In contrast to the four soldiers, we have the four women. The men have run away; however, the women remain faithful to the end. This is often the case in the church. They are tenacious in their devotion to Christ. John focuses on the words Jesus speaks both to Mary and to John himself: ‘When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, ‘Woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.’ (John 19:26-27)

Jesus’ compassion really is remarkable. Even amidst the awful pain and suffering Jesus was enduring, he thinks of others. He has time to speak with one of the criminals on the cross and saves him. He prays for those who crucified him. And here, he ensures that his mother will be provided for through the help of John.

D Macleod: ‘Jesus shows sensitivity to others, even at the height of his own pain.’

It’s so easy to take our pain out on others. It’s easy for pain to blinker us, so that we are consumed by our own needs and blind to the needs of other. Not so with Jesus. This incident is a window into his heart and it is a heart of tenderness and love.

What has this got to do with us today? Well, Jesus’ love for us is the same today.

JC Ryle: ‘The heart that even on the cross felt for Mary, is a heart that never changes. Jesus never forgets any that love Him, and even in their worst estate remembers their need. No wonder that Peter says: ‘cast all your cares upon him because he cares for you.’

Mary was going through enormous pain watching her son being crucified. It’s hard to appreciate the extent of her grief. When Jesus was presented at the temple, Simeon says to Mary: ‘This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.’ (Luke 2:34-35) Now that sword is now piercing Mary’s soul. But Jesus cares and will provide.

Whatever you’re going through just now, try and remember that Jesus loves you. He cares and provides for us. He cares for his spiritual family deeply. ‘Then he looked at those seated in a circle round him and said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.’ (Mark 3:34-5)

Sometimes, family and friends are too preoccupied with their own lives and lack compassion and love. Jesus is never too preoccupied. He’s never too busy. He’s never too caught up in important matters to care. His ears are always listening to our prayers, and he always answers them according to what is best for us! Is this your view of God? A God of matchless compassion. He is one who is deeply concerned for each and every one of his sheep. What an encouragement to pray!

3. Jesus’ victory cry: ‘It is finished.’

Just before Jesus gives up his spirit and dies, he declares, ‘It is finished’ (John 19:30) This is one word in Greek – tetelesti. The obvious question to ask, is: what was finished?

This word was often used when something difficult has been completed, and accomplished, and it has come to an end leaving us with a real sense of satisfaction. The most obvious example in the ancient world was when the last payment of a mortgage is given, and the house is now yours, with nothing left to pay, and ‘tetelesti’ is stamped on the paperwork. I once had that feeling having climbed Ben Nevis, making it back to the car, and being able to pull off my walking boots, and thinking – it is finished! Job done. Jesus has finished something much more significant than a tough hill-walk. It’s also more significant than a mortgage, but like a mortgage it does involve a debt – a moral one.

Jesus’ cry from the cross is his declaration that he has finished all the work required to save us. He has lived the perfect life that we have failed to live, and that Adam failed to live. And he has paid for our sin in his once-for-all sacrifice on the cross. ‘It is finished.’ = I have completed my mission to die for the sins of my people. Jesus does not say, ‘I am finished.’ and then die – as if he is totally spent. He says, ‘It is finished.’ We see from Matthew and Mark that Jesus cries out his last words in a loud voice. It is a victory cry.

God is a merciful God who longs for everyone to be saved – but the problem is that he is also holy. Our wrong actions, thoughts and attitudes get us into debt with God because it is his laws we break. And so, through our lives we get more and more into debt. It is a debt we cannot pay. But Jesus, by living the perfect life which we could never live, and by dying on the cross as a sacrifice for sinners, has done everything necessary to pay off our moral debt. There is nothing which can be added to what he has done. There is nothing else required, other than for us to receive this gift!

Gary Burge: ‘Jesus’ victory is the basis of our security. My confidence in God and the assurance of my salvation cannot be anchored in my religious performance. ‘It is finished.’ What was needed to satisfy God ought to satisfy us as well. This is the good news of the gospel.’

As Christians, this sacrifice is what we rely on. Christianity is first and foremost about what God has done for us to pardon our debt, and not what we can do for God for pardon- we can do nothing. All God requires of us is to turn from sin to God, and receive Jesus’ free gift of pardon. Jesus said, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.’ (John 6:29)

This means that my sin has been dealt with once and for all. Not one drop of wrath will fall on us.
‘My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!’

We are now at peace with God. Jesus has saved us: and there is nothing we can add to this. He did it all. He paid it all. How does God feel about you today? Is he angry? Disappointed? Disapproving. See failure? No! If you rest on what Jesus did on the cross – paying off our moral debt of sin – he sees his forgiven and clean children.

‘As dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.’ (Ephesians 5:1-2)

Sermon: Sunday, 18th July, 2024
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: John 19:1-22

Who is your king? Perhaps some of you will answer, well, since Saturday the 6th of May 2023, Charles III is my king. But did the coronation really change much for us? Not spiritually speaking. What you think about Charles III isn’t going to have any bearing on what happens to you when you die and where you will spend eternity; however, your attitude to Jesus, the King of Kings, will determine that. With that in mind, let’s repeat the question, who is your king? In other words, who do you live for and who do you obey and who do you trust and who do you serve?

Bob Dylan’s 1979 album ‘Slow Train Coming’ has a song entitled ‘You’ve gotta serve somebody’. His point is that everyone in world has a choice of two; either we serve the Lord Jesus, or ultimately we are on the side of evil and serve the devil. Here’s what he says:

‘You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls

But you’re going to have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re going to have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re going to have to serve somebody.’

Is Bob Dylan right? Why should we listen to him? Well, because this is straight from the Bible. In his letter to the Romans, Paul says that we are either slaves to Jesus or slaves to sin: ‘But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Romans 6:22-23)

Out of all the four gospels, John seems to stress the most that Jesus is the true king. : Then Nathanael declared, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.’ (John 1:49) We read that on Palm Sunday, They (the crowd) took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, ‘Hosanna!’ ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Blessed is the king of Israel!’ (John 12:13)

Before we dive into this passage, we need to understand that Jesus is the true king in two different ways. First of all, Jesus is descended from King David, and is the rightful heir to the throne of Israel. Secondly, Jesus is not only a perfect human being but he is also God, the Creator and Ruler of all things, and so that means he is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus is the true and only King of Kings.

The letter to the Philippians tells us something vital for us to grasp: ‘… at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Philippians 2:10-11) What does this mean? It means that every single human being will bow before Jesus one day. Either we do so willingly, receiving him as our king with joy, or we will do so when it is too late, and we’ll bow before him as our Judge, and be cast away. Who is your king?

1. Mocking the true king

In verse 1 we read that Jesus is flogged. This was a severe beating, with a whip laced with bone and metal, and in itself was enough to kill the victim. Pilate has Jesus flogged, even though he has repeatedly stated that Jesus has done nothing wrong. Perhaps he thinks this will satisfy the Jews, and they will stop demanding Jesus’ death. It does not work.

Next, Jesus is subjected to severe bullying at the hands of the Roman soldiers. In order to totally humiliate Jesus, they dress him up as a king. They want to make him look like a fool, rather than a king. The crown of thorns would have had huge spikes digging into Jesus’ head. It was a cruel and painful crown to wear. Perhaps a soldier’s coat was thrown over him to represent a royal robe. We read in other gospels that Jesus is also given a reed to act as a sceptre. Roman soldiers were used to saying to Caesar ‘Ave Caesar’ or ‘Hail Caesar’. Now they sarcastically direct this ‘respectful’ greeting to Jesus. They slap him in the face again and again. They are bullies. Jesus allows this to happen for us. This is part of the suffering Jesus had to experience in order to pay the price for our sins. As Christians read this, we think, he goes through this for me.

This passage is full of dramatic irony. What does that mean? It is when things are the opposite to the way they seem, but the characters in the story do not realise this. So here, in John 19, the soldiers mock the very idea that Jesus might be a king. And he looks nothing like a king with his swollen and bloodied body, cut open from the flogging. However, when they say ‘Hail king Jesus’ they speak better than they know. Ironically, in their sarcasm, they are telling the truth. It is a truth they are blind to see. They do not recognise that Jesus’ is their rightful king. He is the rightful king of all of us.

2. Rejecting the true king

In verses 4-15 we read of the religious leaders and the crowd baying for Jesus’ blood. They cry out ‘Crucify him’. Their behaviour is evil and shocking. We see their true colours particularly in verse 15: ‘Shall I crucify your king?’ Pilate asked. ‘We have no king but Caesar,’ the chief priests answered. (John 19:15) For Jews, they ought to have known that the LORD is King and there is no other. ‘The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King for ever.’ (Pslam 29:10) Jesus is the LORD, the Maker of all, but they are blind to his identity. They reject the Maker of the world. They reject the only one who can save them. And what do they choose instead? They choose the rule of a godless pagan king.

Please notice that when people reject Jesus, the true king, they replace him with all kinds of distorted things to rule over them. It might be money, or pleasure or serving yourself as if you are the king and the centre of the world. Whatever you live for, whatever is most important to you; that is your king.

The religious leaders, more than anyone, should have cared about the truth of Jesus’ identity. But did they really care about who Jesus truly was or why he had come? Sadly, they do not. What do they care about? ‘If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.’ (John 11:48) They only care about themselves and clinging on to their power. They are driven by self-interest, not the truth and not what was best for the people. They will do anything to hold onto their power. So, it ought not to be a surprise when we find them blackmailing Pilate (verse 12) saying that if he releases Jesus then he is no friend to Caesar. This would have sent shivers down Pilate’s spine, knowing how fickle Caesar could be. Pilate, like the religious leaders, only cares about clinging on to his power. He cares more about his own skin that justice, or pleasing God. The religious leaders lie, falsely accusing Jesus of both blasphemy and sedition. They are filled with envy and hatred, and it is this which leads them to cry out, ‘Crucify him, crucify him.’

Like the soldiers, who spoke better than they knew, Pilate also speaks better than he knows. This passage is full of irony. In verse 5, Pilate says to the crowd ‘Here is the man.’ It might seem that the Jews were in control of the situation, and Pilate claims to be in control, saying that he has the power to kill or release Jesus. But who is really in control? By saying ‘Behold the man’ Pilate is actually fulfilling Scripture. In Zechariah, a Messianic prophecy, we read: ‘And say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord and shall bear royal honour, and shall sit and rule on his throne.’ (Zechariah 6:12-13)

Also, Pilate is right in another sense. Jesus is ‘the’ man – the only perfect human to have ever lived. RC Sproul says he is a ‘portrait of perfect humanity. This is what man was created to be. This was the second Adam standing in front of this crowd.’ No wonder Pilate repeatedly says that he cannot find any fault with him. There is nothing to find. He is the God-man. He is perfect. And again, in verse 14 Pilate says to the Jews, ‘Here is your king.’ Pilate speaks better than he knows! Jesus is the long-promised messianic king the Jews were supposed to be waiting for, if they only had eyes to see it.

The soldiers and the crowd and the religious leaders are all grim warnings to us about how not to respond to King Jesus. Today, most people reject Jesus as their king, preferring to be the ones in charge, and acting as if they can live any way they choose, with no accountability to God. Many today mock Jesus. Many are blind to his identity and mission. The question for us is, who is my king? Do I recognise the rightful authority of Jesus to reign in my heart and life?

Here’s how we ought to respond. Queen Victoria was listening to a chaplain preaching on the second Coming of Jesus, and during the sermon was tearing up. After the service, the chaplain spoke with her, asking her what had affected her so much. She said: ‘Because of what you said about the coming of the world’s rightful King. I wish still to be here when he returns that I might lay my crown at his blessed feet.’ I hope that this is the attitude we will all have to King Jesus.

3. The calmness of the true King

When Pilate hears that Jesus might have claimed to be the Son of God he reacts with fear. As a superstitious Roman, for Pilate, this was a real possibility. So, he asks Jesus, ‘Where do you come from?’ I think Pilate is asking if Jesus has supernatural origins. But Jesus will not answer, which really riles Pilate: ‘Don’t you realise I have power either to free you or to crucify you?’

Notice how calm Jesus is before this Roman leader. He knows he is about to be crucified, and yet there is no panic in his mind. Jesus is the one in control here, not Pilate. Jesus is voluntarily laying down his life for his people. His calm response to Pilate is awesome. Jesus answered, ‘You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.’ (John 19:11) Pilate, like all with political power, only has that power because God delegates it to him. God is ultimately in control. He raises up kings and leaders and brings them down again.

The amazing truth is this, even though Pilate is acting wickedly, ultimately God is using these evil actions to accomplish his purposes. That’s how powerful God is. That’s the sovereignty of God. And in the light of this, Jesus remains calm, trusting his heavenly Father.

4. The sign above the true King

Pilate has an inscription written and fastened upon the cross: ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews.’ I believe he does this out of spite, to get back at the Jews for blackmailing him and forcing his hand to have Jesus crucified. The chief priests and the rest of the Jews are raging about this. Such signs normally stated the crime which the one crucified had committed. But not on this occasion. They want the sign altered to say he ‘claimed’ to be the king of the Jews.

To continue our theme of irony, once again we can say that Pilate writes better than he knows. Jesus is indeed the rightful Jewish king, and indeed the king of the world. The Jews want the truth of this sign changed, but it cannot be changed. It is as if God is saying that Jesus exercises true kingship, and nothing can change that reality.

John Calvin: ‘The providence of God guided the pen of Pilate.’

The sign on the cross placards Jesus as king in the three main languages of the day, Hebrew, Greek and Latin. This trilingual sign reminds us that Jesus is not just the rightful king of the Jewish people but of all people in the world, including you. Nothing can alter this fact.

But the question remains, who is your king? Who do you serve? Don’t be like the soldiers who mock the true king. Do not be like the religious leaders, who care more about self-interest than about the allegiance the true king deserves. Remember the warning and promise in Psalm 2: ‘Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.’ (Psalm 2:12)

Sermon: Sunday, 14th July, 2024
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Mark 10:45

What is Christianity all about? What is the message of Jesus in a nutshell? How important is it for us to understand this anyway? To understand what it truly means to be a Christian, you need to understand who Jesus is, and why he came to earth. Who is Jesus? He is God. He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. No one made Jesus. He has always been there. There is one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In John’s Gospel, Jesus is called ‘the Word’. When we hear the title ‘Word’ it is talking about Jesus: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.’ (John 1 vs 1-4) Jesus, then, because he is God, is the one who gives both physical and spiritual life.

Consider the Christmas story. This is when Jesus (who is God) decided to leave his dwelling place in Heaven, and come down to earth, in order to become a real human being. Most of us know how this happens. Mary becomes pregnant by the power of God the Holy Spirit, and so her baby is truly human and truly God at the same time. Jesus becomes the God-man. This is quite simply astonishing. God enters into his own creation by becoming one of us. So, why did he do this? Jesus tells us plainly. Speaking about himself as the Son of Man, which is a divine title, he says that he: ‘… did not come [into the world] to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’ (Mark 10:45) Let’s sum up what we are saying so far. Who is Jesus? He is the unmade and only God, who is good and kind and true. Why did he come to earth and why did he become a human? In order to give his life as a ransom for many.

1. Jesus’ death is a ransom

Is this offensive or the best possible news? What is a ransom? A ransom is the money paid to gain the freedom of those in captivity. For example, recently in Nigeria, a Christian pastor was kidnapped and held to ransom. He was in great danger and payment was demanded in exchange for his liberty. The ransom was paid; however, sadly the terrorists did not release the man. In Bible times, a ransom was the money which needed to be paid in order to set a slave free. Even today, in our computerised age, we talk about ransomware, where our computers are taken over by hackers (in other words they are enslaved by someone else) and in order to get a decryption key from the hackers, a ransom price has to be paid. Sadly, often it is a waste of time paying this ransom as it just encourages more cyberattacks and is no guarantee that we will get our data back!

Why might all this be offensive to us? Because Jesus is implying that all human beings are slaves to their own selfishness and prefer to live for themselves than for God. This might offend you. But is it true? Certainly, many are slaves to drugs and alcohol. You also get shopaholics and workaholics and all these things point to a lack of self-control. When we live for our own pleasures, those pleasures take a grip on us and master us. Are we really slaves to wrong desires and behaviours? Yes. All human beings, some in less obvious ways than others, are slaves to sin. We cannot control our tongues but hurt one another. We have outbursts of anger. Can I prove this? Just try and live a loving, kind life for just one week, where we treat others as we would like to be treated. We cannot do it. Every single day, I break several of the 10 commandments. Without God’s help, I cannot stop doing this. Without Jesus, I am a slave to sin. This also means that morally speaking, because I am consistently breaking God’s rules, I am getting into more and more spiritual debt to God. He hates the way we live selfish lives. We are in great danger, as we deserve his judgment because of our wrongdoing.

But here’s the good news. A successful ransom always sets someone free. The price is paid and the slave is set free forever. This pictures what happens when we become Christians. When we trust in Jesus, he pays an enormous ransom price in order to set us free. The average ransom price for a Western hostage is around $3 million. But what’s the largest ransom price ever paid? The largest was not paid with money but when Jesus voluntarily died on the cross for us, shedding his own blood in order to pay our debts and set us free. The price is his own blood, shed on the cross.

‘For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.’   (1 Peter 1:18-19))

‘For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’   (Mark 10:45) When we receive Jesus’ death as payment for our own wrongdoing, something wonderful happens. God changes our hearts and gives us new desires and inclinations. Of course, we are not perfect, but we are no longer slaves to sin and to self, but become free to be the people God intended us to be. We become servants of God, wanting to please him more than we want to please ourselves.

For Christians, this ransom is the opposite of offensive – it is the best news in all the world, and that’s why we want to share it with others. We’re told in this verse that the Son of Man ‘gave’ his life as a ransom. In other words, no one took Jesus’ life away from him. He gave it voluntarily and willingly. Jesus’ death on the cross was no accident. Listen to Jesus’ words in John 10:11: ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.’

Notice the word ‘for’. Jesus lays down his life ‘for’ the sheep. He gives his life as a ransom ‘for’ many. The word ‘for’ signals that Jesus is dying in our place. We are the ones in debt who deserve to die, but he dies instead of us. He is our substitute. Out of amazing love for slaves to sin, Jesus suffers and dies in our places, in order to set us free and live new lives of love to God and love to others.

‘For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people.’   (1 Timothy 2 vs 5-6)

Jesus’ death is the greatest ever ransom. It is 100% effective. For all people who with empty hands receive Jesus’ free offer of dying in our place, there is the promise of freedom, forgiveness and eternal life. It’s almost too good to be true. But it is true. And Jesus did not just die for one particular race or gender or age of people. He dies for many. ‘For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’   (Mark 10:45) Christians belong to an international family of people down through the centuries. What do we have in common? We were all slaves who have been set free by Jesus Christ. That’s why we love and him and live for him. He died for us.

2. Jesus’ death is an example of how we should live

Jesus’ wonderful statement about giving himself as a ransom comes out of an embarrassing context. The disciples know that Jesus is God’s promised Saviour-King. They know he is the Messiah. But they don’t yet understand the kind of Messiah he is going to be. He had not come to save them politically from Roman occupation, but to save us spiritually from our sin. And because they are thinking about Jesus’ work in worldly categories, they want the best places in Jesus’ cabinet when he comes to power. They have the ‘brass neck’ to ask Jesus for the most prestigious jobs that were on offer. They are pushing themselves and their own interests forward. It is like asking a bride and groom for the best seats at the top table at the wedding.

The others disciples are furious. Perhaps they are furious because they hadn’t gotten in there first and asked for these positions of power. Once again, Jesus must patiently correct his disciples. In verse 42, Jesus speaks about the Gentile rulers and officials- they use their political power for themselves and loved to be served by those they have authority over. Jesus says, do not be like them! Christian leaders are to be totally different. We must be counter-cultural. We must focus on serving those under our care. Here’s the truth, greatness in the Kingdom of God is measured by how well we can be servants. ‘Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.’ (Mark 10:43-44)

Friends, this is not just for church leaders. All Christians, all followers of Jesus must die to themselves, in other words, die to living selfish lives; instead, we must focus on serving God and serving others. Jesus is our example. He left the glory and splendour of Heaven and came down to earth in order to sacrificially serve rebels like us. He is our example. We too must sacrifice our time and resources and preferences for others. We too must be servant-hearted. If Jesus, the eternal Son of God, could humble himself to serve others, then of course his followers must do this too.

Here’s the challenge: when you come to church, do you behave as a servant, doing what you can to love and help others? Is that your focus? Or do you come to church for what you can get out of it, and then leave? Do you put the needs of others ahead of your own?

Later in life, the apostle John comes to understand that greatness is the Kingdom of God is measured by service. ‘This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.’   (1 John 3 v16)

3. Elders must be eager to serve

Today we are ordaining a new elder in the church. Jesus sets the tone here for the kind of leader he wants him to be. He wants him to be a humble servant.

‘To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble.’   (1 Peter 5:1-5)

Jesus is the great Shepherd of the sheep – the church. He is the one who protects us from evil and he is the one who teaches us from His Word. Elders of the church are Jesus’ under-shepherds, and are also tasked with being men who love the Bible, so that we can protect the church family from false teaching, and feed the church family with nutritious and wholesome teaching from God’s Word. We must be those who understand and live out and love the Bible.

I love the phrase in 1 Peter 5:2: ‘… be shepherds of God’s flock.’ The Christians in this church all belong to God, and not to the leaders. Leaders must always remember that those we care for belong to King Jesus. He died for them and he loves them. And yet, he entrusts them to the care of church elders. What a privilege!

But let’s close with the 3 words at the end of 1 Peter 5:2 – Jesus wants elders who are ‘eager to serve’. It’s not always easy being an elder in the church. It comes with responsibility and time pressures. It involves hard work. So how can we do a good job? We must keep praying for a heart like Jesus’ heart – a heart willing to serve. And we must keep drawing inspiration from the example of Jesus our Saviour, who did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Sermon: Sunday, 7th July, 2024
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:10-15

When it comes to being a follower of Jesus, our motives matter. God is not just concerned with what we do with our time and resources; he is also concerned with why we do what we do. In other words, God is concerned with the workings of our hearts.

‘For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’   (1 Samuel 16:7)

Jesus focuses on our motives a lot in the Sermon on the Mount. He tells us plainly that our Christian acts ought to be done in secret, so that we are doing them in order to please our heavenly Father, and not because we want others to think well of us:

‘Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.’   (Matthew 6:1-4)

Our motives matter. We ought to give a portion of our money back to God, motivated by just how much Christ has done for us.

So, if we want to be a healthy gospel church, it is crucial that each of us thinks deeply about why we do what we do. What is motivating us? Why have we come to worship God today? Why do we spend our time the way we do? The truth is, because we are at the same time saved and yet still sinners, our motives are always mixed. We need to keep praying that more and more, the Lord would motivate us by the right things, and that we would not be motivated out of self-righteousness, pride, greed, guilt or laziness.

In 1789, an Anglican minister called Thomas Scott wrote his autobiography. He made a shocking admission that his ruling motives in becoming a minister were: a comfortable career, lots of leisure time, little labour and the accolades of men. As it turns out, at that point Thomas Scott was not a true believer in Christ. In the Free Church, one of the questions we are asked before being admitted to a pastoral charge is this: ‘Are not zeal for the honour of God, love to Jesus Christ, and desire for saving souls, your great motives and chief inducements to enter into the function of the holy ministry, and not worldly designs or interests?’ Again, our motives matter.

In Paul’s day, there is a group in the church in Corinth who question Paul’s motives for his ministry. They want to undermine his authority and his work by accusing him of being in it for selfish reasons. In this short section (2 Corinthians 5:10-15) Paul defends his own ministry, but giving us an honest account of some of the main things which motivate him. This is enormously helpful for us today, because we can learn from this, and prayerfully seek to be motivated by the same things as Paul. This is particularly helpful to our own church family at this time, as we have been spending time considering how we must serve God and others using our spiritual gifts. As we do this, it is vital that we also consider our motivation for serving Christ and one another. We must evaluate our own hearts. So, what motivates Paul?

1. The fear of the Lord

Of course, this ‘fear’ does not mean that we are scared of God in a negative way. He is our loving heavenly Father, after all. This ‘fear’ speaks of the reverential awe which all Christians should have towards God, their Master. Consider again these verses in our passage.

‘For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others.’   (2 Corinthians 5:10-11)

There is something in us that would like to think that we can live any way we want and it doesn’t really matter. We like to think that we are not accountable to anyone else for our actions. But that is not true. As Christians, we know we will never be condemned by Christ; nonetheless, we must still appear before him to give an account of what we have done with all that he has entrusted us with. In others words, how we live our lives matters and is a serious business. It is wise to live with an eye to pleasing God our Father, and not ourselves or others.

‘For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God…’   (Romans 14:8-10)

Who do you live for? If you live for yourself then you are a selfish person. But is there someone better to live for? Absolutely. We were created by God in order to glorify and enjoy him. He deserves our service because he (not we) is the king of the universe, and he is loving and merciful and good. In fact, he is so kind that our service to him will have positive eternal consequences for us – treasure in heaven! Who do you live for and why? Ultimately, we are all answerable to God and will meet with him face to face one day.

Think of an apprentice who has just been taken on be a good company. She works conscientiously because she wants to please her boss. That’s a good thing. We too want to please our boss, who is our Heavenly Father. ‘We make it our goal to please him.’   (2 Corinthians 5:9)

2. God’s glory

Paul cares far more about God’s glory that what others think of him.

‘If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.’   (2 Corinthians 5:13)

Paul has obviously been accused of being fanatical in his devotion to Jesus. In the book of Acts, when Paul speaks of Jesus rising from the dead, the Roman leader Festus accused him of being mad: ‘At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defence. ‘You are out of your mind, Paul!’ he shouted. ‘Your great learning is driving you insane.’   (Acts 26:24)

Paul is in good company. Jesus’ own biological family thought he was mad: ‘When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, ‘He is out of his mind.’   (Mark 3:21)

What do you care most about? Is it what other people, such as non-Christian friends and colleagues think of you, or is it what God thinks of you? If you are motivated by being a people-pleaser, then it’s unlikely you will live wholeheartedly for Jesus and tell others about him. It is more likely that you will hide your Christian faith away and keep silent about the gospel. However, if we are God-pleasers, then we won’t care as much if we are laughed at, mocked or marginalised. We know living for God is what matters from an eternal point of view. And we also know that the souls or men and women are at stake and sharing the gospel is worth it, no matter how we are treated.

3. Christ’s love for his people

Paul is motivated by Christ’s love for him.

‘For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.’   (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

This is a crystal-clear statement of what motivates and energises Paul: it is the love of Jesus. And in particular, what Jesus has done by dying on the cross for him. We see in verse 15 that the cross makes a radical difference in Paul’s life – he no longer lives for self but for Jesus.

As a church family, this is the heart-beat we want to have as we serve God each and every day. We want to be energised, not by guilt, but by the love of God and the grace of God. This is Paul’s secret for effective and fruitful Christian living.

There was once a woman who won an amazing trip around the world. However, she decided that she could not take up this great prize. When pressed why not, it came to light that her friend was in hospital and she wanted to be there for her friend more than she wanted the holiday. Why was that? It was because her friend had done so much for her at a time when she was a drug addict and lived a chaotic lifestyle and when no one else showed her love and care. Her friend had loved her so much in the past and so now it was a no-brainer- in her friend’s time of need, she would gladly and willingly be there to help. She was compelled by love. The more we actively remember what Christ has done for us, the more our actions will be controlled by that love.

Let’s go back to Thomas Scott, our Anglican clergyman with dubious motives. His autobiography moves on, and he is wonderfully converted. It’s so tragic that some ministers then and now are not true believers, but Thomas Scott’s motivation changed from selfish motivation experiencing being compelled by the love of Christ. He says: “My desire henceforth, God knoweth, is to live to his glory, and by my whole conduct and conversation, to adorn the doctrine of God my Saviour, and to show forth his praise, who has called me out of darkness into his marvellous light, to be in some way or other useful to his believing people and to invite poor sinners who are walking in a vain shadow and disquieting themselves in vain, to taste and see how glorious the Lord is and how blessed are those who put their trust in him.” Now Rev Scott is compelled by the love of Christ.

I agree with Douglas Kelly when he says: ‘We need nothing more in God’s church today in every country than a baptism of the love of the Lord Jesus afresh containing us in a God-ward direction. Ultimately, this constraint is the same love that the Father has to the Son through the Holy Spirit, a love which Augustine called ‘the bond of charity.’

‘… God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.’   (Romans 5:5)

There are many other good things which motivate Christians to use our spiritual gifts and to live for the glory of Jesus Christ. But this morning I wanted to focus on two core motives found in this passage. Douglas Kelly summarises these: ‘This is Paul’s double motivation: he is constrained by the love of Christ, and he desires never to disappoint the Lord Jesus when he looks back on his life.’

Consider the words of Isaac Watts in the great hymn, When I Survey the Wondrous Cross:

3. See from his head, his hands, his feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

4. Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a offering far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Sermon: Sunday, 30th June, 2024
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Romans 3:10-26

CS Lewis once entered a large conference on comparative religions. They were discussing if there is anything unique to the Christian faith – something in Christianity which you simply do not find in other religions. CS Lewis said: ‘O, that’s easy. It’s grace’. For Lewis, grace sets Christianity apart from the world’s false religions. Grace is an enormously important word for Christians. It is a beautiful word. It means Christianity isn’t so much about what we can do for God (for we cannot earn his favour) but Christianity is about what God can do for us – what God can do for you!

What is grace?

‘Grace is God’s free and unmerited favour shown to guilty sinners who deserve only judgment. It is the love of God shown to the unlovely. It is God reaching downward to people who are in rebellion against Him.’ (Jerry Bridges)

We are all sinners. We are all those who fall short of God’s standards. Our culture has a dangerously optimistic view of the human condition, saying that we are all basically good people. Sure, people say, we’re not perfect. Sin is downplayed, with actions blamed on our environment or our genes. However, if people are basically good, why then is sin so universal? Why is the world full of inequality, racism, greed, pride, war and exploitation. When we read the newspapers, it seems more accurate to say humans are basically bad. If we’re honest, we see this sin in our own homes and hearts too. How does God describe our condition? As it is written: ‘There is no-one righteous, not even one; there is no-one who understands, no-one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no-one who does good, not even one.’ (Romans 3:10-12)

This is God’s estimation of our hearts. As far as he is concerned none of us is good. Quite the reverse. Our hearts are black. We are slaves to sin. But against this black canvas there is the sparkling diamond of the grace of God. Have you ever gone to buy a diamond ring? The salesperson in the jeweller’s puts the ring on a black cloth. This is so we can see the beauty of the diamonds in the ring. The grace of God is like a diamond- shining all the more against the backdrop of sin and guilt in our hearts.

1. Our ruin and God’s remedy – the 3 buts

We all know what the word ‘bankrupt’ means. When a business is bankrupt, it is no longer able to pay its debts. The Bible speaks of each one of us as being ‘spiritually bankrupt’. We’ve broken God’s good and holy rules countless times and so are in great moral debt to God. We have nothing to pay off these debts with. In fact, each day we sin more and our spiritual debt increases. We’re bankrupt! I doubt many here are financially bankrupt. But without Jesus, we’re all bankrupt morally. ‘There is no one righteous, not even one…’ (Romans 3:10)

However, Romans 3 does not end with just an outline of our total moral bankruptcy. It goes on. ‘Therefore no-one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.’ (Romans 3:20-24)

God’s laws are not a ladder which we can climb to enter into Heaven. Actually, the opposite is the case. God’s laws are like x-rays which show up just how much sin is in our hearts. For example, the 10th commandment, ‘Do not covet’, only underlines just how often we want the best for ourselves and don’t like it when someone else has a better house, car, spouse or holiday than we have. What is God’s remedy to our ruin? ‘But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known…’ (Romans 3:21)

We are justified freely by his grace. (Romans 2:24) If we have faith in the work Jesus did on the cross then we are forgiven. Were God to count our sins against us none of us could stand before him (Psalm 130:3). Were God to weigh our lives in his scales we would all fail. But we can be justified – we can be made right with God. What happens? There’s a swap. Our sins are made over to Jesus and his goodness is freely given to us. Is this fair? No! This is grace.

In theological language: ‘God has imputed or charged the guilt of our sin to Jesus Christ; and he has imputed or credited the goodness of Jesus to us.’ That’s grace. God taking the blame for us.

‘God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice…’ (Romans 3:25) Why did Jesus die? As a sacrifice for sins. Why? Because God needs to demonstrate his justice. He cannot ignore the sin in our hearts. But he provides a solution.

‘… and (we) are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.’ (Romans 3:24-25 ESV)

The ESV has this word ‘propitiation’ = by his death, Jesus turned aside the wrath of God by taking it on himself. He bore our sins in his body and endured the full force of God’s wrath.

Why? Why did he do this? Because of his grace. Remember the definition. It is the love of God shown to the unlovely. Is there a more amazing love than this? Are you impressed by God’s love?

Let’s see other passages showing the contrast between our black hearts and God’s grace!

What were we like before we become Christians? ‘As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.’ (Ephesians 2:1-3)

We are dead in our sins (spiritually) and under the influence of Satan. We are prisoners to our own sinful lusts. We are objects of God’s wrath. This is a serious state. We might find this language offensive, but the truth is this – we cannot even go through a single day with doing wrong!

Where’s the grace? Where’s the ‘but’? ‘But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.’ (Ephesians 2:4-5)

But the good news is – God intervened. Why? Because of his great love. Because of his grace. Think of Lazarus in the grave. That’s a picture of what we were like spiritually. We are dead in our trespasses and sins. But God says to Lazarus ‘Come out!’ Why? Because of his grace!

What’s the next description? ‘At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.’ (Titus 3:3) We were slaves to sin.

Where’s the ‘but’? What will God do? ‘But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.’   (Titus 3:4-7)

Because Jesus completely paid the awful penalty of our sins, God could extend his grace to us through complete and total forgiveness of our sins. That’s why the cross of Jesus is so vital. Because on the cross Jesus is taking the punishment we deserve upon his shoulders.

2. What happens to our sin?

(a) How far away does God remove our sins?
‘As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.’ (Psalm 103:12)

How far are east and west apart? That’s an infinite distance. This is God’s way of telling us that our forgiveness is total/ complete/ unconditional. This is different from north and south—you can travel north only so far (to the north pole) before being forced to travel south; so, north and south meet at the poles. But east and west never meet.

In Fife east to west would be Crail to Kincardine. In the ancient near east it would be maybe from Egypt to Persia – 1400 miles. However, God has no fixed point in mind- it is an infinite distance!

(b) Can God still see our sins?
‘Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back.’    (Isaiah 38:17)

What has God done with our sins? He’s put them behind his back. What does that mean? It means that they are unseen – they are not to be considered anymore. Not to be brought up. We have the English expression; ‘We’ve put that behind us now’ = not to be brought up again.

Are you a Christian? Did you know your sins were behind God’s back? So, when God looks at his children, he no longer sees the filthy clothes; these have been replaced by white robes given to us.

How did our sins get behind God? Jesus makes this possible; by dying for us and paying our debts, as far as God is concerned, it is as if we had never sinned. Our sins will not be thrown in front of our faces ever. They are behind his back.

(c) Are our sins really gone forever?
‘You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.’   (Micah 7:19)

In Exodus 15, God hurls the Pharaoh’s chariots into the depths of the sea – they sink like stones. God deals with the enemies of his people decisively. Pharaoh’s chariots could not catch up with the people. They were free. It’s the same with our wrongdoing. God hurls them into the sea. They are lost forever, never to catch up with us. He wants them to be lost forever because they have been fully dealt with on the cross. That means we are free from our sins. Imagine I threw a certain pebble into the ocean and then asked you to find it again. You could not. That’s how God sees our sins.

(d) But what happens to the record of our sins?
What about the files of all we have done? Isn’t it like social media, that once you post an unwise comment, it is there forever?

‘I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.’   (Isaiah 43:25)

Picture a scribe taking a wet rag and rubbing out a mistake from a parchment. God is the great Judge of all the earth. But when we trust in Jesus, he takes a wet cloth and wipes the board clean.

Think for a moment about all the wrong you have done in your life. Is this good news? Can you say God has forgiven you? Do you trust in the death of Jesus?

Then understand this: God removes our sins as far as east is from the west, he puts them behind his back, he hurls them into the depths of the sea, he wipes them out, he remembers them no more.

Sermon: Sunday, 23rd June, 2024
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: John 6:25-71

We’re in the run-up to a general election and there are lots of polls which gauge the popularity of the various parties and their respective leaders. Will the SNP dominate again, or will some who supported them in the past switch their allegiance? What will the political map of the UK look like after the 4th of July? Will it be red or blue? In John chapter 6, Jesus’ popularity as a spiritual leader in Israel reaches its highest point, its zenith. He would have won the race to become prime minister. We read in John chapter 6: ‘Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.’   (John 6:15)

This had been building for some time.
‘Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.’   (John 2:23)

‘Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptising more disciples than John the Baptist.’   (John 4:1-2) Note: It was not Jesus who baptised but, rather, his disciples.

However, towards the end of John chapter 6, there’s a dramatic shift in Jesus’ popularity. Hundreds of his followers decide it’s no longer worthwhile to follow him. There is a sharp demise in Jesus’ popularity. We don’t know exactly how many followers are left, but if feels like a small number. This prompts Jesus to turn to the 12 disciples and ask: ‘You do not want to leave too, do you?’   (John 6:67)

There are reasons why so many people give up on Jesus; they’re not good reasons, but it is important to consider them. And there are also reasons why the 12 continue to follow Jesus, in spite of the cost and the unanswered questions. This is a vital area for us to consider this morning. Why? Because today in 2024, there are many attending churches all over the UK who decide that they’ve had enough with church and Christianity and Jesus, and that life would be better for them if they were to walk away from Jesus. And that’s exactly what they do. We have seen this at a national level, a denomination level and at a personal level, when family members and friends tragically leave the faith. It might be that some in this very room are thinking about giving up on Jesus. Or even if you are not in that place right now, perhaps one day you will be, and so all the more reason why we ought to have a close look at what is going on here.

1. Reasons why people walk away from Jesus

One reason is that they can’t handle his teaching! They find it offensive. It’s helpful to see the connection between verses 65 and 66: He went on to say, ‘This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.’ From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.’ Clearly, some of the people who’d been following Jesus were offended at the teaching that we need a special work of God in order to become Christians. They don’t like being told they are unable to save themselves or to earn their salvation, but rather need God and his power in order to receive new hearts and new desires. Many today are also offended by this teaching. But it remains just as true today. We don’t have the power to change ourselves. We need to rely on God’s power and throw ourselves on his mercy. In the days of Elisha, Naaman was offended at first, because he thought he could be saved his way.

They do not like Jesus’ teaching about his own identity. He claims (verse 38) to have come down from heaven! They respond by saying: Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?   (John 6:42) They are also offended by Jesus’ claim to be greater than Moses, who they revere. What’s more, they misunderstand his teaching about being the bread of life: ‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.’ Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’   (John 6:51-52) They do not seem to understand what Jesus means by eating his flesh and drinking his blood. This is not something literal. He is not even referring to the Lord’s Supper. By eating his flesh and drinking his blood, Jesus is telling us that he is the Giver of eternal life, and to receive this life we must be united to him by faith, and pledge our allegiance to him. It is by receiving and appropriating for ourselves his death and resurrection and by receiving him as our King that we have this life. Feeding on Christ involves feeding on the Words of Christ, as we read the Bible.

I also believe that people were offended by how exclusive Jesus’ message is. He claims to be the bread of life, and by implication, there is no one else who is able to give us eternal life – only Jesus.

Although called ‘disciples’ in verse 66, this word is used loosely; these individuals were not spiritually united to Jesus by faith. They were not authentic disciples. Rather, they followed Jesus because he was able to give them bread to eat, in the feeding of the 5000. They are attracted by his ability to meet their physical needs. They follow their stomachs. Others, as we have seen, want a political king who will kick out the Romans from Israel and give their nation independence once again. But when they try and make Jesus their king, and see that he is not interested in this kind of earthly kingdom, their political hopes are dashed and they leave him, full of disappointed hopes.

Picture these vast numbers of Jesus’ followers beginning to grumble and sharing their complaints with one another. Picture them coming to the point of decision – we would be happier without Jesus of Nazareth. They turn their backs on Jesus and walk away. I think some would have agonised before doing so, and would have done so with a heavy heart. It is a tragic scene.

Today, people leave Jesus for the same kind of reasons. There are doctrines which people genuinely struggle with including the sovereignty of God, the problem of evil, the eternal punishment of sin, the sexual ethics in the Bible, and the exclusive nature of the Christian faith, ruling out other religions. Some agonise over aspects of Jesus’ teaching, before deciding enough is enough. They would be happier without God in their lives (so they think).

Some people are let down by the church and wounded by their experiences in certain churches and that prompts them to leave Jesus. Some look over the fence and the grass seems so much greener over there – they think non-Christians have a much less complicated life, and without the pressures of going to church Sunday by Sunday and all this talk of using our spiritual gifts.

In Psalm 73, Asaph says: ‘For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked…’ (verse3) ‘Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence…’ (verse 13) I think that Peter would also have considered the possibility of leaving Jesus and going back to fishing. But he does not. And if we want to make sure that we don’t leave Jesus, then we need to carefully consider the reasons for staying with Jesus.

2. Reasons for staying with Jesus

Note this, Jesus does not change his teaching just because it is unpopular. It is the truth and he will not compromise on truth. He just says: ‘You do not want to leave too, do you?’ Jesus asked the Twelve.Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.’   (John 6:67-69)

‘Are you ever tempted to leave? I certainly have been, many times, and I don’t know how many times these words of Peter have echoed through my mind. Where can I go? Should I go to Mohammad and join the jihad? I’m not going to find words of eternal life there. I won’t find them with Immanuel Kant or Jean-Paul Satre. I won’t find them in the lyrics of contemporary music. If I want the words of eternal life, there’s only one place I can go to get them – to the One who gave his life that we might live.’ (R C Sproul)

Friends, I find it refreshing how honest RC Sproul is here. Like us, he doesn’t always find the ways of God palatable or easy to understand. He too has questions which remain unanswered. But, like Peter, at the end of the day, we need to ask ourselves, has anyone else died for our sins and risen again from the death to give us hope for life beyond the grave? Does anyone else love us with this kind of love? Can anyone else promise us that although there are many things we don’t understand (and the Bible is clear that God does not tell us everything) nonetheless, God is working all things together for good? Can anyone else explain the value of human individuals? Can anyone else explain why we are moral creatures, knowing right and wrong? Can atheism or agnosticism? Is there a coherent understanding of the meaning of life outside of Jesus? There is not. There is no one else to follow.

I think many of us have various doubts – some more than others. Many of us will have become disillusioned by the behaviour of a Christian, or by a certain church. We all have questions which there are no answers to. There are aspects of the faith which might seem to be harsh or judgmental. However, is unbelief any better? Does that give you meaning or purpose or answer the unanswerable questions of life? It might seem to offer you a happier life. But perhaps God has a more glorious agenda for you than your own happiness, and that is your holiness. The suffering of this life is often what shapes us into becoming more like Jesus. God openly tells us that the life of discipleship is a battle, and that total happiness will come in eternity, when sin is removed once and for all.

So, why follow Jesus? Because he, and he alone, has the words of eternal life. Jesus himself says this: ‘The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you — they are full of the Spirit and life.’   (John 6:63) It is by trusting in the promises of Jesus that we enter into the certain hope of going to Heaven. Just how important is the Bible? Just how important is it for us to read it regularly and carefully and rub it into our own lives? It is enormously important. It is God’s Word alone which teaches us how to be saved from our sin, and how God wants us to live in this world. It challenges us, and comforts us, and instructs us.

Human beings are like cut flowers. We look good for a time, but we are all withering. All of us must die. I promise you now that no one else can deal with your death and offer you eternal life apart from Jesus Christ. He alone has defeated death- no one else. Follow him. Trust in him. He alone has the words of eternal life.

Why follow Jesus? Because of who he is: Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.’   (John 6:68-69) Peter calls Jesus ‘Lord’. The disciples have seen Jesus’ miracles. They have witnessed his incredible compassion for the marginalised. They have heard him teach with unparalleled authority. They have experienced his unmatched love. He is full of wisdom and grace.

In sport, we sometimes speak of the GOAT (greatest of all time). In snooker it might be O’Sullivan and in tennis it might be Novak Djokovic, and in football it might be Pele or Messi. But these things don’t really matter very much. It is just sport – entertainment. When it comes to surrendering our lives to someone and pledging our allegiance to someone, it makes sense to give that commitment to Jesus. He is the Son of God. He is the greatest of all time in every respect that matters. He lived a perfect life for us and he died for us. All his words come true. He will never let us down. He loves us with total commitment. There is no forgiveness and peace with God outside of Christ. May God give us the grace to follow him, and never turn our backs on him.

‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’   (John 6:68)

Sermon: Sunday, 19th May, 2024
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Psalm 51

What is your favourite song? Sometimes we love a song for the melody and sometimes for the lyrics; the best songs are strong in both. Sometimes I wish I knew more about the background of certain songs. Why has the songwriter chosen certain phrases? What has happened to him exactly? For some of the 150 psalms we wish we could know the background. But for Psalm 51 we do not have to wonder. The title of the psalm (which is part of the psalm) tells us: ‘A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.’

1. The background of the song

We can read the account in 2 Samuel chapters 11 -12, and so we can understand exactly why King David has so much to confess. He catches sight of a married woman called Bathsheba bathing, and instead of turning his eyes away and praying for help in his temptation, he fixes his gaze and gives in to temptation, with lustful and covetous thoughts. Eventually, David abuses his power, committing adultery. In an attempt to cover up his sin (you never can!) he tries to get Uriah drunk so he thinks the child expected is his – and when that plan does not work, he has Uriah murdered. Uriah is one of the heroes of David’s army – David would have known him. He is not a faceless figure. And so, David had flouted so many of God’s commands: stealing, adultery, lying, coveting and murder.

In 1 Samuel 13:14, David is described as ‘a man after God’s own heart’. Yet, he falls so spectacularly here. What has all of this got to do with us 3000 years later?

It reminds us that all Christians are capable of falling suddenly and deeply into sin. Do you believe that? What are you capable of given the opportunity to sin? It might begin with something in the heart, like a lustful or covetous look which no one else knows about. But left unchecked, and unconfessed to God, this can grow and grow and begin to take a hold of us, leading to greater sins.

We shouldn’t look at David and say, ‘I would never do that.’ We should do the opposite. We have the seeds of all kinds of sins in our hearts. We must always be on our guard. After David murders Uriah, months go by and he seems to be oblivious to how serious his actions have been; he has no conscience about them. David is in a terrible situation: he does not realise his own sinful behaviour. Again, this has direct application to us. It is possible for us to be like that. We have wronged God in many ways. This sin acts as a barrier and we cannot have proper fellowship with God. But we do not realise it. In his grace, God sends his prophet Nathan to expose David’s sin.

Does God seem far away from you or do you feel close to God? If you feel far away, then perhaps your heart is hardened to sin- you don’t even realise how much you have offended God. ‘But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.’ (Isaiah 59:2) You might be a Christian deep in sin without knowing it. You are far from God today. What hope is there for you? David was a believer far from God. He has hope for us in this Psalm. The hope is that ‘… sinners will turn back to you.’ (Psalm 51:13)

The prophet Nathan then tells the story of the rich man who steals the only lamb a poor man has: ‘David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.’ Then Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man!’ (2 Samuel 12:5-7)

God uses his prophet and gives the simple words ‘You are the man!’ to bring David to his senses. He is finally confronted by the reality of his sin. This is a far better place for him to be. Before this, he is ignorant about how much he has offended God. However, now his soul is awakened. He wakes up to the truth about himself. Many people do not want to make this discovery about themselves.

2. Come clean

We know what it means to ‘come clean’ about something- it means to tell the truth about something which you have been keeping a secret. It is to confess something.

What a sea-change in David’s attitude. Before he was just thinking – how can I cover my tracks? But now he is thinking – how could I treat God in this way? He now sees his actions for what they are, filthy, vile behaviours which are almost beyond words.

And yet David does use words to describe them. In fact, he uses three different words for sin. It is as if he discovers new dimensions of the sin in his heart. Each graphic word he uses pictures another heinous aspect of sin.

• Transgressions : Verse 1 – David knows he is a ‘transgressor’. This word means to rebel against the known will of God (summarised in the Ten Commandments). God is the King on the throne, but David is behaving as if he is in charge of the universe. ‘I’ll murder this man so I can have more.’

God’s laws, when followed, lead to a life of love- loving God and loving our neighbours. They are like fences, preventing us from crossing the line and offending almighty God. But David crosses the line again and again. He lies, and steals and commits adultery and covets and murders. He has rebelled against God’s authority and now ‘comes clean’ about this. Friends, it’s so serious to rebel against the holy, just and righteous Creator.

We are just like David. There are many times when we deliberately choose to do things we know are wrong. There is no excuse. When we do that, we are rebelling against the King of the universe.

• Iniquity : Verse 2 – ‘Wash away my iniquity…’ Iniquity = twistedness. Why do we sin? We have a twisted heart. Augustine reflects on stealing pears from another garden- even though his own pears are better. He steals just for the sake of stealing. He sins as he loved sinning more than he loves the ways of God.

I had a compass which was broken, but I didn’t realise that. I tried to navigate in the hill, but I kept going astray. The compass wasn’t set to north as it ought to have been. Actually, our hearts are like that. Everything we think and do is just awry. We have a bias towards doing wrong. We are not good people. We are iniquitous.

• Sin : Verse 3 – ‘My sin is ever before me.’ Sin = missing the mark. We are meant to live for God and so often we live for ourselves. Think of the game of archery. We might try to please God by aiming at the bull’s eye, but the truth is that we don’t even hit the target.

Confession is more than knowing what we have done. It also means knowing who we have done it to. ‘Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.’   (Psalm 51:4) This might be surprising to you. Surely it is Uriah the Hittite David has sinned against the most. After all, he has been murdered. Well, of course, David did sin greatly against Uriah. However, David knows that the commandments he has broken are God’s commandments. The heart of the matter is this: sin is rebellion against God. God makes the rules. And all sin is an affront to Him.

I don’t think we grasp this enough in our Christian walk. If we are rude or cruel or selfish towards someone in our family, then we hurt and offend them, which is a serious business. But the most serious aspect of that behaviour is that we are simultaneously offending God in Heaven. This ought to trouble you more than the fact you have hurt those in your family. Both are significant.

In verse 4, David says: ‘Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.’   This is a sobering verse. It means that all of our sin – whether our thoughts or actions- is done before the all-seeing eyes of God! Imagine your wife was sitting beside you and could see what you were scrolling through and watching on your phone. Would that impact what you looked at? Of course, it would. Well, God is, as it were, always sitting beside you. He sees all you do, and all you think. Think about that. Practice thinking about that. We live before the face of God.

3. Become clean

How does David, filthy as he is from this catalogue of vile sin, become clean? And how can we in all our sin, with our own respective catalogues, become clean?

We must cast ourselves on the mercy of God. ‘Have mercy on me, O God.’   (Psalm 51:1) Mercy, by definition, is something that we do not deserve. ‘If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?’   (Psalm 130:3) To be become clean, we must cry out to God for mercy. Have you done that?

It is nothing short of amazing that God does not treat us as our sins deserve. It is because of his character. God is a God of covenant-love. God has pledged that if we confess our sins to him without excuse, he will have mercy on us. ‘Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.   (Proverbs 28:13) He is the God of great compassion. What a wonderful incentive this is for us to cry out to him for mercy!

Let’s focus on verse 7 for a moment: ‘Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.’   What is going on here? I think that our sin is being compared to an awful skin disease, such as leprosy. We read in Leviticus, that a diseased person must leave the camp for a certain period of time. They will be examined by a priest and if healed, the priest must sacrifice a bird, and using the hyssop plant as a brush, sprinkle blood on the one to be cleansed seven times. ‘Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the defiling disease, and then pronounce them clean.’   (Leviticus 14:7)

So, when David asks God to cleanse him with hyssop, he is acknowledging that his sin is like a terrible skin disease and he desperately needs God to make him clean again, through sacrifice – through someone dying in his place. We know that it is not possible for the blood of animals to take away sin see (Hebrews 10:4) and we know the amazing truth that it is the blood of Jesus which is able to cleanse us from all sin.

As we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, know this: we are in this Psalm. If we trust in the death of Jesus, then we have been cleansed with hyssop, not with the blood of a bird, but with the precious blood of Christ. This means that we are whiter than the snow in God’s eyes. Thanks be to God!

4. Restored to usefulness.

After such appalling failure, we might wonder if there was any way back for King David. Likewise, perhaps in your Christian life, you have spectacularly failed others and dishonoured and rebelled against the LORD in the process. Is there any way back for you?

What is the way back? The way back is to pray to the LORD for purity. Pray to him for a clean heart. ‘Create in me a pure heart, O God…’   (Psalm 51:10) This word ‘create’ is really important. You cannot change your own heart. You cannot create that change on your own. But God can create it.

God created the world in six days. Creating is what God does. It is miraculous. The same thing is required if backslidden Christians are going to move forward once again- we need the miracle of God creating a clean heart within us.

John Calvin: “If there is any greater exercise of power than that which brought all things out of nothing, it is that which makes a saint out of a sinner.”

The thing is – God has promised to make saints out of sinners. ‘… being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.’   (Philippians 1:6)

Let me be blunt. You might be a Christian whose heart has grown cold. You seldom pray and seldom read the Bible. Oftentimes, the way of the world seems more attractive. You might even be living a double life. What should you do? You must confess your sins to God in prayer. You must plead for mercy, based on the death of Christ. And you must ask for God’s power to create a pure heart within.

Do so with this truth ringing in your ears: ‘God can make me useful once again.’