John 5:21-29.              All honour to Jesus!!                           25/11/12

 ²¹ For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. ²² Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, ²³ that all may honour the Son just as they honour the Father. Whoever does not honour the Son does not honour the Father, who sent him.

²⁴ “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. ²⁵ Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. ²⁷ And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
²⁸ “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.

 Jared, you, along with all of the rest of us here today, are here presented with a very important message for us to consider as we go through life. We are called on to take Jesus Christ seriously. He alone is the one who determines the outlook of our whole life; here and for all eternity. So we need to see to it that he is all important in our lives.

 This reading tells us that all honour is to go to Jesus just as it does, or should and ultimately will, go to the Father. He is to be looked up to as the single most important and significant figure in all of history. This is the case, because as we are reminded here, he is the determiner of who will live with God forever and who will be condemned. Serious stuff! He is not just that nice guy up there somewhere who loves and accepts us all, irrespective.

 Now this is important that we hear this very clearly: Because we are living at a time when ‘I, me and myself’ is seen as number one. What I think and feel is what is all important. This is not just the case for the people out there who don’t go to church. All of us have been influenced by this thinking, and as a result fail give God the honour that is due to him. We all fail to hold Jesus up as the Lord over all: that is the supreme authority.

 Now if that is the case that Jesus holds the future of each one of us in his hands, surely we will seek to know and understand him; and in fact do all we can to be friends with him. We will take him seriously and we will seek to know what he has to say about our salvation and life. We will want to know what his criteria for judgment will be.

 What we think and what we would like him to think and do with regard to our acceptance by him, really counts for nothing. The popular views that abound in our society leave us in a very precarious position. We cannot make God conform to our wishes: rather we need to consider carefully what he himself says on this matter. And his views are really quite astounding, compared to the views of our culture around us. Many will be in for a very rude shock.

 Let us take seriously what Jesus himself says here when he says; a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice  and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. All will rise and all will have to face him as judge; being judged by what he has already told us. Elsewhere we are told that every knee will bow and every tongue acknowledge the fact that Jesus Christ is Lord. Everyone will be left with no excuse. This is the harsh reality of the matter.

 So none of us will be able to excuse ourselves by saying, we were just going along with the popular view of the day. None of us will be able to say that we just got distracted by the busy lifestyles of the culture of the day. None us will be able to say that we believe in god [whoever he might be] but then not take Jesus Christ and what he has to say to us seriously. Whoever does not honour the Son does not honour the Father, who sent him. None of us will be able to stand before him on the basis of our own views and criteria.

 That then surely turns us back to taking him and what he has to say to us seriously. Here remember that as we do, we can face that day with confidence and certainty. Jesus is quite emphatic about that. He says: Very truly I tell you. In other words he is stressing the point.

 The point being whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. So with the right beliefs and absolute trust in God, the outcome is certain. As we look to Jesus Christ, trusting that he and what he says is of absolute importance for us then we can have the confidence that the outcome is sure.

In our hearing Jesus word and knowing that he truly did live here on this earth as a human being: coming as God’s very own Son to help us out of the mess that we have made for ourselves. He showed himself very clearly in his miracles and knowledge of the things of God, to be God come to us. Then he willingly goes to the cross so that he might take the punishment that we deserve on himself so that we in turn might be forgiven. Then he rose again three days later so that we can be absolutely sure that this is the case and that we too can have the assurance that we too will rise on the last day to be with him in heaven. So we can now know for sure that he alone is our Lord and Saviour.

 As we think about that, surely we cannot be anything else but absolutely amazed at his graciousness toward. There is no way that we deserve this grace and favour and yet he does extend that to each and every one of us. Even though we are worthless he extends his love, forgiveness and salvation to us. So surely we will be so overwhelmed by this that we will not only believe it, but we will hold Jesus up as our super hero.

 As the one who has saved us from eternal damnation we will now hold him up as the greatest thing in our life. We will want to regularly gather together in his presence. We will want to receive all the good gifts that he has to offer us. We will want to listen to his every word and want to do what he would want us to do. We will be ever so wary that we do not get caught up in all the false thinking that is ever around us. He will be our Lord.

 However we know that despite all of this, many have chosen to reject this Good News. Many are too wrapped up in themselves and their own lives that they couldn’t care less whether he is for real or not. Many pay lip service to him and what he has done, yet choose to, or have allowed themselves to be, so distracted that they have little or no time for him and his greatness. Their own here and now is more important.

Also, all too often, we ourselves get distracted by the pleasures, lies and distractions of our world that we fail to give him the honour and glory that due him. The seduction of our world around to focus on our selfish pleasures and desires often means that Jesus is ignored and other things take priority in our lives. So we constantly face the danger of turning our backs on him who is so important and necessary in our lives.

 So here again we need to hear what Jesus goes on to say. He again begins with the words:  Very truly I tell you. In other words, listen very carefully and take note of what he says. This time he makes the point that; a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. In other words, the time to escape from God’s negative judgement is right now, here already; not left till the last moment. Now, as we take Jesus and his word seriously we have the absolute assurance that we will live. No ifs, buts or maybes. We will live with God in eternity.

 Here also, however, the point is clearly made that it is Jesus Christ himself, who will bring this into effect for us. It is his voice alone that takes us from death to life. But it is also he who has been given the authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. He has been given the authority to send to hell all those who have rejected him and his word; all those who have not taken him seriously: all those who have become so distracted that they no longer have any time or reverence for him and what he has done for us.

 And in this regard remember that Jesus Christ cannot be fooled. He can see into our very hearts and lives and so he knows our every thought, attitude and action. He knows whether we are trusting in him or otherwise.

So Jared, and all the rest of us here, let us heed this message that Jesus Christ is so very important for our eternal destiny. Yes he has died and risen again for our salvation, and he will be our judge on the last day: so let us continually give him the honour and glory that is due to one who is so great in doing what he has done for us and for our salvation and also considering that he is at the same time our judge. So let us be sure to give him all honour and glory now and always. Amen.

 Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish