That You Might Believe
May 29, 2022
Preached by Benjamin Vrbicek
Scripture Reading
John 20:30-31
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
As I mentioned last week, this morning we begin our new sermon series in the gospel of John. We won’t finish the series this summer, but we do hope to make it through the first four chapters, which are very full chapters. This summer we might have more elementary children in the service than we typically have because for the summer we’re suspending some of our regular Sunday school classes. We want to give our teachers a break, as well as giving students time to experience our worship services.
So, if you’re younger and with us today and this summer, and you’re not used to being in here, we’re so glad to have you in the sanctuary. You don’t have to sit perfectly, perfectly still so that you don’t distract me. Your parent’s cell phones are probably more distracting anyway. If you’d liked to draw a picture of something from the Bible stories, that would be awesome. I would love to see them after the service. Come up and show me or have your parents text the picture to me. This morning I’ll be reading a bunch of stories from John’s gospel of Jesus doing miracles. Maybe you could draw one of them. As we turn our attention to Word, let’s pray again. “Dear heavenly Father . . .”
Introduction
When an engaged couple asks me to officiate their wedding, we’ll often have several sessions of premarital counseling. In the first session, we just get to know each other a bit, but when we begin the counseling, I’ll often tell the couple that our very first session could be the most boring session. I actually don’t think it is the most boring session, but I tell them this because in the first session, we just read a ton of Bible passages. In that first session, we don’t talk about budgeting or how to work through conflict or how to raise children or roles and responsibilities or intimacy. All of that comes later.
On the first night, we simply read and discuss all the verses in the Bible about men and women and marriage and divorce. Well, maybe not all the verses. But we do read Genesis 1 and Genesis 2, Matthew 5 and Matthew 19. We sometimes talk about Luke 16:18 and 1 Corinthians 7. We talk about the one-flesh purpose of a man leaving his father and mother to be united to his wife. We talk about adultery and desertion and what all that means for them. We do this, I’ll tell the couple, because they need to know what they are getting into. They need to see that, I’ll tell the couple, God understands marriage not simply to be a more intense version of dating or courting or engagement. Marriage is more intense than dating, courting, and engagement. But marriage is also something more than something more intense. Marriage is a whole new relationship altogether.
This morning we come to the beginning of our sermon series through the gospel of John, we’re starting our introduction to the book with verses from the end. There’s a good reason for that. In those verses at the end, John gives his purpose for writing what he wrote, saying that he wrote everything, he wrote so that signs would point us to Jesus as our source of life.
If that’s true, we should get familiar with what he wrote. So, I want to say upfront that this morning is like that first session of premarital counseling. I’m going to read a ton of Bible passages. And that’s a good thing for us because, as we get into our sermon series, we need to know who this Jesus is. If we are those who call ourselves Christians, then we need to be constantly reminded of who Christ is, the one from whom we draw our namesake: Christian.
What Did Jesus Do? The Book of Signs
The gospel of John was written by a man who spent a lot of time with Jesus. Likely, the book was the last of the four gospels written, which makes what we have in the gospel of John the mature reflections of a man who followed Jesus while Jesus was on earth, but then followed Jesus for perhaps another fifty years thinking about the words he wanted to leave to us.
Some refer to the gospel of John as “The Book of Signs.” They do this because of the repeated emphasis on the signs that Jesus does to teach us who he is. Another name for signs is miracles. In the gospel of John, there are seven signs. Settle in as I read them to you now. As I read them, we’ll keep asking the question, What does John—indeed, what does Jesus—want us to do with each sign?
Sign 1: Changing water into wine (John 2:1–11)
If you have a Bible, please leave it open. The first sign comes from 2:1–11 (p. 834).
2 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. (John 2:1–11)
You can see in v. 11 that John flags for readers the idea of signs. He says, “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory.” Then John adds, “And his disciples believed in him.”
So, as promised, I’ll ask the question. What do you think John—indeed, Jesus—wants us to do with this first sign? We’ll have a whole sermon on this sign in a few weeks, but for now we’ll keep going.
Sign 2: Healing the royal official’s son (John 4:46–54)
The second sign begins in 4:46 and involves a healing. Let’s read that now.
46 So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” 49 The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. 51 As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. 52 So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. 54 This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.
Again in the last verse of the passage, John goes ahead and numbers the sign. There was the first, and now this is the second. After this sign, John stops numbering, expecting readers to pick up what he’s doing. What do you think John wants us to do with this sign?
Sign 3: Healing the paralytic at the pool (John 5:1–9)
We’ll keep going. The third sign comes in chapter 5. I’ll read vv. 1–9.
5 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.
Humm. Healing a leg that hadn’t been walked on in 38 years would not be like causing someone who recently stopped walking to walk again. All the muscles would have been atrophied. What do we do with this sign? What does John want us to do?
Sign 4: Feeding over 5,000 with two fish and three loaves (John 6:1–14) & Sign 5: Walking on water (John 6:16–25)
The fourth and fifth signs occur in chapter 6. Jesus feeds over five thousand people, and then he walks on water. I’ll read these together.
6 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” . . .
I’ll skip a few verses because you know what happens. He feeds them.
14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” 15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” 21 Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. . . .
25 When they [the crowd] found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
I’ve always loved the way that the feeding of the five thousand begins with a question. “Hey, Philip,” Jesus says, “there’s a lot of people here. I want to feed them. How should we do it?” Do you think Jesus asks a question because he doesn’t know, that he asks to get new information he doesn’t have? I don’t. In v. 6 we read, “[Jesus] said this to test [Philip], for he himself knew what he would do.”
What are we supposed to do with these signs? It seems that Jesus is disappointed with those who just stop at the sign, those who want nothing more than the sign. Jesus is disappointed in those who want nothing more than a bread machine.
Sign 6: Healing a man born blind (John 9:1–7)
The sixth sign is the healing of a man born blind. In a way, the story takes up all of chapter nine, so we’ll just read vv. 1–7.
9 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. (vv. 1–7)
After the healing, controversy breaks out, as all the media outlets can’t stop talking about the sign. And the religious leaders hate Jesus for it.
Sign 7: Raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1–46)
The seventh sign is the raising from the dead of a man who was a friend of Jesus, a man named Lazarus. This is another sign that seems to take a whole chapter. Jesus has visited his friend who has now died. He weeps at his tomb. While he’s weeping, some people mock him and his ability to heal. Let’s pick up in v. 38.
38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Kids, don’t miss the way this is worded. It’s hilarious. He must have shuffled out. Maybe draw picture of this.
45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, 46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
In our sermon series in John, I have no idea when we’ll get to this passage in John 11, but I can’t wait. The last time I preached this passage was about eighteen years ago. I’m looking forward to preaching it again. But there we have it: we read all seven signs. Or did we?
There is some disagreement about how to number the signs. Some think we should see both the feeding of the five thousand and the walking on water as one sign rather than two signs. If so, that leaves one left, which makes a lot of sense. The greatest sign is not that Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, but that Jesus raises himself from the dead. Listen to what Jesus said in John 10:18.
No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.
And he does. Jesus lays down his life and he takes it up again.
What Do We Do with Jesus? Believe that We Might Life in His Name
Now, back to our question. If Jesus does signs, what are we do with these signs? Let’s read the two verses we read before the sermon. They answer the question.
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30–31)
John wants us to see these signs of Jesus. But John doesn’t want us to stop at the signs. John doesn’t want us to stop at signs because we never stop at signs. Signs point to something else. Think of a sign that points to the beach at Ocean City. No one stops their car at a sign that points to the beach. No one pulls their car over by the sign pointing to the beach and stops and plays in the median of the road. Instead, we take note of signs, and follow the signs until we reach where the signs point.
John doesn’t want us to pull the car over and stop at signs, at miracles. Instead, he wants us to keep traveling, to keep seeing the signs until we believe Jesus is the Son of God. And when we do, we have life in his name.
John wants us to find our true life, not in the stuff of this world, or even in the gifts God gives us, but he wants us to find life in God himself. So often we try to find life apart from God. We try to find life in the things that actually bring death. But it’s Jesus who brings us life, and life to the full, a life with God that begins now and goes on forever. And that’s good news.
Conclusion
Speaking of good news, as we close, I won’t necessarily ask if you feel the need for the life that Jesus brings right now, but I will say that I do. I look out at all the death in the world and see the need for life in Jesus. There were shootings in a grocery store in Buffalo. There were shootings in an elementary school—an elementary school!—in Texas. In the wake of the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade, all sorts of insanity broke out. There’s a war in Ukraine. Death is everywhere.
And consider the brokenness in the church. This might not have hit your radar, but many of us pastors who pay attention to these sorts of things have been shocked about the report published last week on the largest protestant denomination in the world. The report outlines hundreds of cases of sexual abuse among church leaders in that denomination and the attempts to cover it up.
Then here, in our own church, we have so many things to be thankful for, no doubt. But I’ve felt the brokenness in several ways. Yesterday I stood here to preside over the memorial service for Shelby Stauffer, a longtime member and coworker. I mentioned a few weeks ago in a sermon how Shelby’s faith and joy in Jesus were contagious, even as her illness made it so that she could only communicate by writing on a white board. And even that stopped during the last few days. Just for context, I’ll tell you that in the last six months I’ve attended and led the same number of funerals as in the previous five years.
I guess, as we end, I would say that this is why we need John’s gospel. When God inspired John to write this good news story of Jesus, John was not unaware of the death in our world. But it is this world, our broken world, that God so loved and gave his Son. And in giving us his Son, he’s offering you life in his name. Abundant life (John 10:10b). The kind of life that is truly life (cf. 1 Tim. 6:19).
Everything John wrote, and everything John left out, was done so that we would know that God is not just offering us bread or healing or some other miracle, but in Jesus Christ, God is offering us himself. Let’s pray . . .
Discussion Questions
Have you ever read through the gospel of John? What do you know about the book and the author?
In what ways do you feel the brokenness of the world? These days, what things are making you sad?
What things to we typically do that bring us life? Many of these activities are not bad. But what happens if we put too much emphasis on them?
One children’s story book says of Jesus that he is “making everything sad come untrue.” How does he do this?
