The Amazing Journey of the Son (John 16:28)
This sermon was preached on 6/12/2009
The chapters in the Upper Room teaching are very important for Christians, not least because they are the final words of Jesus before he was arrested. In the main Jesus has been teaching his disciples about the various activities that the Father and the Spirit, along with his own actions, would perform on behalf of believers. As he comes toward a close, the Saviour highlights other aspects. In the verse we are going to consider, Jesus reminds his disciples of his great mission, of the stupendous undertaking that he agreed to fulfil. He voluntarily came forth from the Father into the world. This short sentence contains fullness of meaning.
His words tell us who he is, that he was the eternal companion of the heavenly Father. Throughout the incalculable eras of eternity the Father and the Son loved in and delighted in one another. There is a marvellous verse in John 1:1, which says that the Word (Jesus) was face to face with God. As they looked at each other, they saw a perfect reflection of their abilities and aims.
His words also tell us where he was, that he lived in the same location as the Father, in heaven. They lived in a perfect world in which there was noting impure or undesirable. There was not even the hint of a storm throughout its vast domains. It was a world marked by peace and joy.
His words also tell us what they planned, which was that the Son should come forth from the Father and come into the world. This was not a sudden journey, decided at the last minute. Rather it had been planned for a long time, for eternity. We get an insight into the onset of the journey from Psalm 40, a Messianic psalm, in which Jesus says to the Father, ‘Here I am, I have come – it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart’ (vv. 7-8).
The journeyThe first detail that we can notice about the journey is that it was a journey of descent. It began in heaven. In a sense, Jesus moved from the perfect world to a sinful world. I say in a sense because we also know that Jesus retained all the features of deity, one of which is omnipresence. And the wonder is that on this journey he never left the place from where he started.
But his descent was not merely a change of location. It also included a change in his person because he took into union with his divine person a human nature through his incarnation, when he became a human. Paul says in Philippians 2 that Jesus humbled himself and made himself of no reputation.
The second detail is that it was a journey of danger as he came into the world to rescue those whom the triune God loved from eternity and upon whom they wanted to bestow great blessings. From his birth onwards, he was the object of attack by demonic powers. We see this in the response of Herod, when he slew all the children in Bethlehem in order to ensure that the new-born Saviour was killed. He failed, but that did not mean that the danger for Jesus was over. Many times he would face the attacks of both human (the people of Nazareth who tried to throw him over a cliff, the conspiracies of the scribes and Pharisees) and demonic foes. Yet the most dangerous part of the journey was jet to happen, when he would suffer on the cross at the hand of his Father when he paid the penalty for sin.
Yet the third detail is more pleasant because it was also a journey of delights as he met and interacted with some of the people he had come to save. We often think of the joy that Andrew, Peter and the other disciples had when they met Jesus and received forgiveness for their sins. But we should also think of the joy of Christ as he met them and brought them into his kingdom. We get insights into his joy when we read John 4 and reflect on his discussion with the woman of Samaria. We can go through the four Gospels and note the many individuals whom Jesus met and saved, and on each occasion he was delighted.
Fourthly, it was a journey marked by duty because he came as a representative of sinners. His journey was not a vacation, but a vocation. It was a calling that he received from his heavenly Father. What was required of him was that he would live a perfect life on behalf of sinners and then pay the price of their atonement.
Fifthly, it was a journey that involved desertion. Although he completed the distance to it, on the cross he found himself in a place of great darkness. As he journeyed towards God, he enjoyed the company of God, as he told his disciples when he said that he was not alone because the Father was with him. Yet there came the time when he had to cry, ‘My God, my God, why have your forsaken me?’
Sixthly, it was a journey with a destiny because he was now about to leave the world and go to the Father. He had almost finished the work the Father had given him to do and he was anticipating the great reward that lay ahead of him in the Father’s presence when he returned to the Father’s house. He was to be welcomed on to the Father’s throne, to be inaugurated as universal king.
Seventhly, it is a journey full of discovery, even for Jesus, as he now as the God-man governs the universe. Ahead of him are ages of glory, leading his people into the riches of God’s incredible purposes. And he gives insights and foretastes of these discoveries to his people, often when they gather at the Lord’s Table.
This is the journey that we remember tonight. As we sit at his table, may we know his presence with us by the Spirit. May he give strength as we anticipate the journeys ahead of us.
His words tell us who he is, that he was the eternal companion of the heavenly Father. Throughout the incalculable eras of eternity the Father and the Son loved in and delighted in one another. There is a marvellous verse in John 1:1, which says that the Word (Jesus) was face to face with God. As they looked at each other, they saw a perfect reflection of their abilities and aims.
His words also tell us where he was, that he lived in the same location as the Father, in heaven. They lived in a perfect world in which there was noting impure or undesirable. There was not even the hint of a storm throughout its vast domains. It was a world marked by peace and joy.
His words also tell us what they planned, which was that the Son should come forth from the Father and come into the world. This was not a sudden journey, decided at the last minute. Rather it had been planned for a long time, for eternity. We get an insight into the onset of the journey from Psalm 40, a Messianic psalm, in which Jesus says to the Father, ‘Here I am, I have come – it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart’ (vv. 7-8).
The journeyThe first detail that we can notice about the journey is that it was a journey of descent. It began in heaven. In a sense, Jesus moved from the perfect world to a sinful world. I say in a sense because we also know that Jesus retained all the features of deity, one of which is omnipresence. And the wonder is that on this journey he never left the place from where he started.
But his descent was not merely a change of location. It also included a change in his person because he took into union with his divine person a human nature through his incarnation, when he became a human. Paul says in Philippians 2 that Jesus humbled himself and made himself of no reputation.
The second detail is that it was a journey of danger as he came into the world to rescue those whom the triune God loved from eternity and upon whom they wanted to bestow great blessings. From his birth onwards, he was the object of attack by demonic powers. We see this in the response of Herod, when he slew all the children in Bethlehem in order to ensure that the new-born Saviour was killed. He failed, but that did not mean that the danger for Jesus was over. Many times he would face the attacks of both human (the people of Nazareth who tried to throw him over a cliff, the conspiracies of the scribes and Pharisees) and demonic foes. Yet the most dangerous part of the journey was jet to happen, when he would suffer on the cross at the hand of his Father when he paid the penalty for sin.
Yet the third detail is more pleasant because it was also a journey of delights as he met and interacted with some of the people he had come to save. We often think of the joy that Andrew, Peter and the other disciples had when they met Jesus and received forgiveness for their sins. But we should also think of the joy of Christ as he met them and brought them into his kingdom. We get insights into his joy when we read John 4 and reflect on his discussion with the woman of Samaria. We can go through the four Gospels and note the many individuals whom Jesus met and saved, and on each occasion he was delighted.
Fourthly, it was a journey marked by duty because he came as a representative of sinners. His journey was not a vacation, but a vocation. It was a calling that he received from his heavenly Father. What was required of him was that he would live a perfect life on behalf of sinners and then pay the price of their atonement.
Fifthly, it was a journey that involved desertion. Although he completed the distance to it, on the cross he found himself in a place of great darkness. As he journeyed towards God, he enjoyed the company of God, as he told his disciples when he said that he was not alone because the Father was with him. Yet there came the time when he had to cry, ‘My God, my God, why have your forsaken me?’
Sixthly, it was a journey with a destiny because he was now about to leave the world and go to the Father. He had almost finished the work the Father had given him to do and he was anticipating the great reward that lay ahead of him in the Father’s presence when he returned to the Father’s house. He was to be welcomed on to the Father’s throne, to be inaugurated as universal king.
Seventhly, it is a journey full of discovery, even for Jesus, as he now as the God-man governs the universe. Ahead of him are ages of glory, leading his people into the riches of God’s incredible purposes. And he gives insights and foretastes of these discoveries to his people, often when they gather at the Lord’s Table.
This is the journey that we remember tonight. As we sit at his table, may we know his presence with us by the Spirit. May he give strength as we anticipate the journeys ahead of us.
Comments
Post a Comment