John 12:42-50
Praise from God
Introduction: John Chrysostom
Seeking to know God better, John Chrysostom became a hermit in the mountains near Antioch in A.D. 373. Although his time of isolation was cut short by illness, he learned that with God at his side, he could stand alone against anyone or anything.
That lesson served Chrysostom well. IN A.D. 398 he was appointed patriarch of Constantinople, where his zeal for reform antagonized the Empress Eudoxia, who had him exiled. Allowed to return after a short time, Chrysostom again infuriated Eudoxia, who sent him away again.
How did Chrysostom respond to such persecution? With these words: "What can I fear? Will it be death? But you know that Christ is my life, and that I shall gain by death. Will it be exile? But the earth and all its fullness are the Lord's. Poverty I do not fear; riches I do not sigh for; and from death I do not shrink."
We talk about giving praise to God. So much of the Scriptures talk about giving praise to God. But, as Christians, do we ever consider the praise that we get from God? John tells us in verse 43 that these Jewish leaders did not openly confess their belief in Jesus, “for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.” Jesus said in John 5:44, “How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?” In Romans 2:29 when speaking of what it means to be truly Jewish, having a work done in the heart by the Holy Spirit, Paul says, “such a man’s praise is from God.” And still, in 2 Corinthians 10:18, Paul says, “For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but, it is the one whom the Lord commends.”
As I read these passages this week I began to ask myself, “Would God praise my life right now?” If Christ were to examine my life like He examined the churches in Revelation 2-3 would He have any praise for me?
Do you ever consider whether God thinks highly of you, or, not very highly of you? Does your faith and your faithfulness to Him give Him any reason to boast to others about? Do you give Him reason to praise you?
God praised Moses as the most humble man in all the earth (Numbers 12:3). He praised Job and literally bragged about him when He said in chapter 1, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” Twice in a vision Daniel is called a man who is highly esteemed in God’s eyes. King David was praised by God as a man after His own heart. Jesus in Matthew chapter 8 literally marveled at the faith of the centurion and praised him for his faith in front of the whole crowd.
What’s more, the Word of God teaches us that there is an examination coming for each Christian. Each of us who believe in Christ will stand before Him and everything will be judged – every word, every deed, every thought, every motive. All that is secret will be exposed before the One who sees it all. First Corinthians 4:5 says, “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.”
I want us to see there is an intimacy here. We are never alone, not even in our thoughts. I want us to grow in our awareness of His un-quitting presence. Is there a consciousness that His all-seeing eyes are upon my mind and my heart? Does this cause me to check even each thought and ensure it is pleasing to Him? Does this cause me to check each attitude and action and be certain it honors Him?
This morning I want title our sermon simply “Praise From God.” And in doing so, I want us to break our passage up into two parts. First we will look at verses 42-43, from which we will see the Commendable Characteristics of the Christian. Secondly, we will look at verses 44-50, which will show us 4 Christian Confidences. I’ll explain as we go through.
Commendable Christian Characteristic: Confessing Christ at all Costs (v42)
So first we see the Characteristics of a Commendable Christian. I want us to see these Characteristics as highly prized and praiseworthy in eyes of God.
So, the first Commendable Characteristic of the Christian is this: Confessing Christ at all Costs. Look at verse 42 with me, “Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue”.
“They would not confess their faith”. Scholars differ over whether they were really believers. I believe they really were believers in Jesus Christ. John tells us plainly in the verse that they were. I think whether they were believers or not is not the focus John was making, but, rather their weakness as believers. John does not present these men in an honorable way. They were believers, however, they were afraid to openly confess their faith that Jesus was the Christ. They kept quiet. Listen, they treated the gospel as if it were a gospel not worth telling.
Why would they not confess their faith? John tells us that they were afraid of losing something. They were afraid of losing something that they still considered very valuable to themselves. “They were afraid of being put out of the synagogue.” We learned in chapter 9 that the Pharisees had threatened to excommunicate anyone who confessed Jesus was the Messiah. To these secret believers, confessing their faith came with a cost that was too high.
On the one hand we might understand this. Some of us may know what its like to be rejected for our faith. But, being thrown out of the synagogue was what every Jew would have been terrified of. It was total rejection from all aspects of society. To be kicked out of the synagogue meant you lost the ability to worship with the rest of your country. It meant you lost the ability to socialize because you were now an outcast. It meant you were shunned economically. You were cut-off. You lost your identity. This is a terrifying punishment for a Jew.
It would be especially terrifying for someone who was high up in Jewish society, such as a religious leader, to lose that grand standing. So these men tried to maintain the best of both worlds: they tried to believe in Jesus and keep the old life they had had. They weren’t like the blind man in chapter 9. Jesus gave him sight and he could see what the leaders couldn’t – that Jesus was the Christ from God. He saw what he had gained and it was more than his eyesight. He could care less now about being kicked out of the synagogue because even though he was rejected by men he was received by God.
These men didn’t compare to the blind man in chapter 9, and, they were nothing like Paul. Paul was a Pharisee and most likely present at a lot of these meetings. Turn with me to Philippians 3. Read verses 4-14.
The key to confessing Christ at all Costs is found in verse 43, “For they loved the praise from men more than praise from God.” They loved being admired by men. They loved being approved by men. They loved that others had a high opinion of them and they were not willing to risk any of it by confessing Christ. Because they loved to receive praises from man, they feared man.
Do you know what the problem with fearing man is? It says this: I want the approval of men more than I want the approval of God. In other words, the cost of losing favor with my neighbors, my co-workers, my boss, my family, my friends, is too much to pay to stand with Jesus. But, Proverbs says that the fear of man is a snare. It’s a trap. Paul said in Galatians 1that if he were trying to please men he would not be a servant of God. That’s true for every Christian.
Do you know why? Worship. Fear of man is a disorder of worship, because the heart that fears men is a heart that worships the approval of men. The ultimate fear is rejection by men, not God. This is a heart of idolatry. It places man above God as the one who is served. A man-pleaser will do whatever is necessary to please men because he is afraid of losing the favor of men. He will do whatever is necessary even at the expense of pleasing God. This kind of man is someone who is not a God-pleaser. When it comes down to it, a man-pleaser lives to be accepted by men, not God. He worries about what man thinks and the consequences of commitment to Christ.
These kinds of men, along with these secret believers in the religious leadership were deceived. We are deceived too if we think that by keeping quiet we have gained something. The loss of man’s praises is a small thing when compared to gaining the praise that comes from the only God.
John says plainly that they loved the praises of men more than the praises of God. Lets read that inversely: They loved the praises of God more than the praises of men, and therefore they were willing to confess Christ and be put out of the synagogue.
What are you afraid of losing that keeps you from telling people about Christ? This is saying it a little harder, but, what fear has allowed you to treat the gospel as if it were not worth telling? What has kept you quiet? Here’s a little exercise you can do on your notes. Re-write yourself into the second sentence of verse 42 so that it says, “But, because of _______________ I have not confessed my faith for fear of ________________________.” What is it that you are afraid you would lose if you told someone about your faith in Christ?
Summary Statement:…………………
Transition
These two characteristics of the Christian are traits that God considers praiseworthy. But, next we come to verses 44-50. And these verses are significant because they are the very last words of Jesus before He totally withdraws from the public eye. This is kind of a conclusion to His public ministry, a capstone for all He has said over the previous 3 years. We find some of the major themes of His preaching through these verses.
But, we ask ourselves, “What do these verses have to do with the praise of God?” I want to point out 3 major themes that Jesus touches on in these verses that have been a part of His preaching all along. They are 3 truths that the Christian can be confident in. And, listen, when we are confident in these profound truths, we will find ourselves confessing Christ at all costs, and, pursuing the praises of God instead of men.
Confidence #1: Jesus is Equal with the Father. Notice verses 44-45, “Then Jesus cried out, ‘When a man believes in me he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me.” That Jesus is equal with the Father is a major theme throughout His ministry. He said in chapter 8 that He was the “I Am”. He said in chapter 10 that the Father is in Him and He is in the Father. In chapter 14 He said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”
This is a major teaching in the NT as well. Colossians 2:9 says, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form”. Hebrews 1:4 says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being”.
Here is why this is so important: If I believe in Jesus Christ, who is equal with God, then I believe in the One person who has no equal on earth. He is superior to all. Why then would I ever be concerned more about what man thinks when man is so inferior to Jesus Christ? Men are mere men, but, Christ is God!
Confidence #2: Jesus is the Exit out of Darkness. Notice verse 46, “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” We have dealt extensively with the teaching that Jesus is the light so we won’t exhaust it here again. However, I want to point out something here for us to notice. Jesus says “so that no one who believes in me should STAY in darkness.” In other words, until you believe in Jesus you are in spiritual darkness. You don’t stay there when the Light comes in, you come into the light.
Now look back at the end of verse 42 when it says that these secret believers were afraid they would be put out of the synagogue. They wanted to stay in the synagogue. They wanted to stay in a place of spiritual darkness; a place that neither knew God nor served Him. They didn’t want to leave it even though the Light was not there – even though it had become a place of spiritual darkness…..spiritual blindness. And all the men of the synagogue who did not know God became the very men whom these secret believers wanted praises from.
Here is why this is so important: When you know that you have come into the Light, you are willing to come out of the darkness. Not only are you willing to come out of the darkness, but, you now have the light and you now do what Jesus says in Matthew 5, “Let your light shine before men”.
Confidence #3: Jesus is the Escape from Judgment. Notice verses 47-50, “...”
Jesus is the escape from judgment.
Praise from God
Introduction: John Chrysostom
Seeking to know God better, John Chrysostom became a hermit in the mountains near Antioch in A.D. 373. Although his time of isolation was cut short by illness, he learned that with God at his side, he could stand alone against anyone or anything.
That lesson served Chrysostom well. IN A.D. 398 he was appointed patriarch of Constantinople, where his zeal for reform antagonized the Empress Eudoxia, who had him exiled. Allowed to return after a short time, Chrysostom again infuriated Eudoxia, who sent him away again.
How did Chrysostom respond to such persecution? With these words: "What can I fear? Will it be death? But you know that Christ is my life, and that I shall gain by death. Will it be exile? But the earth and all its fullness are the Lord's. Poverty I do not fear; riches I do not sigh for; and from death I do not shrink."
We talk about giving praise to God. So much of the Scriptures talk about giving praise to God. But, as Christians, do we ever consider the praise that we get from God? John tells us in verse 43 that these Jewish leaders did not openly confess their belief in Jesus, “for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.” Jesus said in John 5:44, “How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?” In Romans 2:29 when speaking of what it means to be truly Jewish, having a work done in the heart by the Holy Spirit, Paul says, “such a man’s praise is from God.” And still, in 2 Corinthians 10:18, Paul says, “For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but, it is the one whom the Lord commends.”
As I read these passages this week I began to ask myself, “Would God praise my life right now?” If Christ were to examine my life like He examined the churches in Revelation 2-3 would He have any praise for me?
Do you ever consider whether God thinks highly of you, or, not very highly of you? Does your faith and your faithfulness to Him give Him any reason to boast to others about? Do you give Him reason to praise you?
God praised Moses as the most humble man in all the earth (Numbers 12:3). He praised Job and literally bragged about him when He said in chapter 1, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” Twice in a vision Daniel is called a man who is highly esteemed in God’s eyes. King David was praised by God as a man after His own heart. Jesus in Matthew chapter 8 literally marveled at the faith of the centurion and praised him for his faith in front of the whole crowd.
What’s more, the Word of God teaches us that there is an examination coming for each Christian. Each of us who believe in Christ will stand before Him and everything will be judged – every word, every deed, every thought, every motive. All that is secret will be exposed before the One who sees it all. First Corinthians 4:5 says, “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.”
I want us to see there is an intimacy here. We are never alone, not even in our thoughts. I want us to grow in our awareness of His un-quitting presence. Is there a consciousness that His all-seeing eyes are upon my mind and my heart? Does this cause me to check even each thought and ensure it is pleasing to Him? Does this cause me to check each attitude and action and be certain it honors Him?
This morning I want title our sermon simply “Praise From God.” And in doing so, I want us to break our passage up into two parts. First we will look at verses 42-43, from which we will see the Commendable Characteristics of the Christian. Secondly, we will look at verses 44-50, which will show us 4 Christian Confidences. I’ll explain as we go through.
Commendable Christian Characteristic: Confessing Christ at all Costs (v42)
So first we see the Characteristics of a Commendable Christian. I want us to see these Characteristics as highly prized and praiseworthy in eyes of God.
So, the first Commendable Characteristic of the Christian is this: Confessing Christ at all Costs. Look at verse 42 with me, “Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue”.
“They would not confess their faith”. Scholars differ over whether they were really believers. I believe they really were believers in Jesus Christ. John tells us plainly in the verse that they were. I think whether they were believers or not is not the focus John was making, but, rather their weakness as believers. John does not present these men in an honorable way. They were believers, however, they were afraid to openly confess their faith that Jesus was the Christ. They kept quiet. Listen, they treated the gospel as if it were a gospel not worth telling.
Why would they not confess their faith? John tells us that they were afraid of losing something. They were afraid of losing something that they still considered very valuable to themselves. “They were afraid of being put out of the synagogue.” We learned in chapter 9 that the Pharisees had threatened to excommunicate anyone who confessed Jesus was the Messiah. To these secret believers, confessing their faith came with a cost that was too high.
On the one hand we might understand this. Some of us may know what its like to be rejected for our faith. But, being thrown out of the synagogue was what every Jew would have been terrified of. It was total rejection from all aspects of society. To be kicked out of the synagogue meant you lost the ability to worship with the rest of your country. It meant you lost the ability to socialize because you were now an outcast. It meant you were shunned economically. You were cut-off. You lost your identity. This is a terrifying punishment for a Jew.
It would be especially terrifying for someone who was high up in Jewish society, such as a religious leader, to lose that grand standing. So these men tried to maintain the best of both worlds: they tried to believe in Jesus and keep the old life they had had. They weren’t like the blind man in chapter 9. Jesus gave him sight and he could see what the leaders couldn’t – that Jesus was the Christ from God. He saw what he had gained and it was more than his eyesight. He could care less now about being kicked out of the synagogue because even though he was rejected by men he was received by God.
These men didn’t compare to the blind man in chapter 9, and, they were nothing like Paul. Paul was a Pharisee and most likely present at a lot of these meetings. Turn with me to Philippians 3. Read verses 4-14.
The key to confessing Christ at all Costs is found in verse 43, “For they loved the praise from men more than praise from God.” They loved being admired by men. They loved being approved by men. They loved that others had a high opinion of them and they were not willing to risk any of it by confessing Christ. Because they loved to receive praises from man, they feared man.
Do you know what the problem with fearing man is? It says this: I want the approval of men more than I want the approval of God. In other words, the cost of losing favor with my neighbors, my co-workers, my boss, my family, my friends, is too much to pay to stand with Jesus. But, Proverbs says that the fear of man is a snare. It’s a trap. Paul said in Galatians 1that if he were trying to please men he would not be a servant of God. That’s true for every Christian.
Do you know why? Worship. Fear of man is a disorder of worship, because the heart that fears men is a heart that worships the approval of men. The ultimate fear is rejection by men, not God. This is a heart of idolatry. It places man above God as the one who is served. A man-pleaser will do whatever is necessary to please men because he is afraid of losing the favor of men. He will do whatever is necessary even at the expense of pleasing God. This kind of man is someone who is not a God-pleaser. When it comes down to it, a man-pleaser lives to be accepted by men, not God. He worries about what man thinks and the consequences of commitment to Christ.
These kinds of men, along with these secret believers in the religious leadership were deceived. We are deceived too if we think that by keeping quiet we have gained something. The loss of man’s praises is a small thing when compared to gaining the praise that comes from the only God.
John says plainly that they loved the praises of men more than the praises of God. Lets read that inversely: They loved the praises of God more than the praises of men, and therefore they were willing to confess Christ and be put out of the synagogue.
What are you afraid of losing that keeps you from telling people about Christ? This is saying it a little harder, but, what fear has allowed you to treat the gospel as if it were not worth telling? What has kept you quiet? Here’s a little exercise you can do on your notes. Re-write yourself into the second sentence of verse 42 so that it says, “But, because of _______________ I have not confessed my faith for fear of ________________________.” What is it that you are afraid you would lose if you told someone about your faith in Christ?
Summary Statement:…………………
Transition
These two characteristics of the Christian are traits that God considers praiseworthy. But, next we come to verses 44-50. And these verses are significant because they are the very last words of Jesus before He totally withdraws from the public eye. This is kind of a conclusion to His public ministry, a capstone for all He has said over the previous 3 years. We find some of the major themes of His preaching through these verses.
But, we ask ourselves, “What do these verses have to do with the praise of God?” I want to point out 3 major themes that Jesus touches on in these verses that have been a part of His preaching all along. They are 3 truths that the Christian can be confident in. And, listen, when we are confident in these profound truths, we will find ourselves confessing Christ at all costs, and, pursuing the praises of God instead of men.
Confidence #1: Jesus is Equal with the Father. Notice verses 44-45, “Then Jesus cried out, ‘When a man believes in me he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me.” That Jesus is equal with the Father is a major theme throughout His ministry. He said in chapter 8 that He was the “I Am”. He said in chapter 10 that the Father is in Him and He is in the Father. In chapter 14 He said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”
This is a major teaching in the NT as well. Colossians 2:9 says, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form”. Hebrews 1:4 says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being”.
Here is why this is so important: If I believe in Jesus Christ, who is equal with God, then I believe in the One person who has no equal on earth. He is superior to all. Why then would I ever be concerned more about what man thinks when man is so inferior to Jesus Christ? Men are mere men, but, Christ is God!
Confidence #2: Jesus is the Exit out of Darkness. Notice verse 46, “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” We have dealt extensively with the teaching that Jesus is the light so we won’t exhaust it here again. However, I want to point out something here for us to notice. Jesus says “so that no one who believes in me should STAY in darkness.” In other words, until you believe in Jesus you are in spiritual darkness. You don’t stay there when the Light comes in, you come into the light.
Now look back at the end of verse 42 when it says that these secret believers were afraid they would be put out of the synagogue. They wanted to stay in the synagogue. They wanted to stay in a place of spiritual darkness; a place that neither knew God nor served Him. They didn’t want to leave it even though the Light was not there – even though it had become a place of spiritual darkness…..spiritual blindness. And all the men of the synagogue who did not know God became the very men whom these secret believers wanted praises from.
Here is why this is so important: When you know that you have come into the Light, you are willing to come out of the darkness. Not only are you willing to come out of the darkness, but, you now have the light and you now do what Jesus says in Matthew 5, “Let your light shine before men”.
Confidence #3: Jesus is the Escape from Judgment. Notice verses 47-50, “...”
Jesus is the escape from judgment.
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