“Answering Life’s Most Important Questions”
John 12:20-50
Sermon Series: “Getting Acquainted With Jesus”
Introduction: There are a lot of questions that I cannot answer. Some of those questions are pretty irrelevant while others are important but I can survive without the answers. However, there are some questions that have to be answered correctly for me to really live now and forever. We are going to answer two of those questions in the message this weekend.
Jesus had gone to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast, and He was speaking to a large crowd of people. He told them that He was about to go to the cross. People responded to Him in different ways. This scene generates two crucial questions. They are, “Why did Jesus die on the cross,” and “How are you responding to Jesus?” Let’s answer those questions from Scripture.
1. Why did Jesus die on the cross?
He died on the cross in order to fulfill the purpose of His life (v. 27). He was born to die (Galatians 4:1-7).
He died on the cross in order to glorify God (v. 28) [Galatians 6:14, 1 Corinthians 1:18, 26-31].
He died on the cross in order to defeat Satan and judge the world (v. 31) [Colossians 1:13-15].
He died on the cross in order to give us a relationship with God (v. 32) [Romans 3:19-26, Romans 5:6-10, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Ephesians 1:7, John 3:16].
2. How are we responding to Jesus?
God wants us to respond with faith. Jesus used the word, “believe,” eight times in the passage. However, we have a choice to make. Here are some possible responses:
We can try to create our own version of Jesus (v. 34). A lot of the people Jesus was speaking to could not believe that the Messiah would die so they were essentially making Jesus who they wanted Him to be. People try to do this all the time today. Are you trusting Jesus for who Scripture reveals Him to be or are you creating your own version of Him?
We can completely reject Jesus (v. 35-41). This is once again how many people respond. They either refuse to believe in Jesus at all or maybe they recognize Him intellectually but refuse to follow Him. Either way, it amounts to rejection.
We can recognize who Jesus is but fail to confess and follow Him because we are trying to please people instead of God (v. 42-43). This is the person who knows the facts of the gospel but has not truly trusted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. In many cases, this type of person is a chameleon. They will appear spiritual at church or around Christians but live in a totally different way around other people. They want to have their cake and eat it too. They love themselves instead of Jesus. By the way, Jesus makes it clear in this passage that we are accountable for every one of His words that we know.
We can believe in Jesus (v. 45-50). Jesus gives us some clues in regard to the nature of true faith in this passage. They include: dying to self and putting Jesus first, serving Him, following Him, and unashamedly confessing Him before men.
Conclusion: Which one of these categories do you fit in? _____
2 Corinthians 5:15 says, “And He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”
