Let us hear the word of the living God as it's found in John's gospel chapter 2 verse 23 to 25. Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover during the feast many believed in his name when they saw the signs which he did but Jesus did not commit himself to them because he knew all men and had no need that anyone should testify of man for he knew what was in a man. The year was 155 A.D. and the persecution against Christians swept across the Roman Empire and it came to the city of Smyrna, one of the seven churches mentioned in the Book of Revelation. The pro-consul of Smyrna wept up into this persecution, put out the order to arrest the famous polycorp, the Bishop of Smyrna. Polycarp was to be arrested, to be brought to the Colosseum, to be executed. Polycarp had been warned to flee, but he chose not to. He invited his captors in. He treated them like guests. He prepared them food. He served them a meal. He just asked for one hour to pray. And the Roman officers overheard his prayers, which actually lasted two hours. And they probably began to have second thoughts, thinking, what are we doing arresting this old man? A man well advanced in his 80s. The crowd screamed when they saw this famous Christian leader led into the arena. They wanted his blood. The pro consul, however, shocked at the sight of his grey hair, offered him a way of reprieve and said, pity your grey hairs, old man. Just curse Christ and I will release you. Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna, responded, 86 years I've served my Christ and he has done me no wrong. How then can I curse my King who has saved me? The proconsul sought for a compromise. Then just do this, old man. Swear by the genius of the Emperor and that shall be sufficient. Now to swear by the genius of the Emperor was to swear by the spirit of the Emperor. It was to recognize the pagan idols and religion of Rome. At this point Polycarp responded, if you imagine for a moment that I would do that, then I think you pretend not to know who I am. Here, play me. I am a Christian. There were more entreaties. At one point, the proconsul asked him to say away with the atheists. That may sound strange to us, but to the Romans, Christians were atheists, because Christians didn't believe in the gods of Rome. And so they called the Christians atheists. unusual for us to think that we used to be called that, but Polycorp turned to the jeering mob of pagans in the stand and he waved his arm towards them and said, away with the atheists. That wasn't quite the response they wanted. And so Polycorp was threatened that he would be fed to the wild beasts. Polycorp said, bring them. I would change my mind if it meant going from the worst to the better, but not from the right to the wrong. Now the proconsul's patience was exhausted. And he said, I will have you burned alive. And Polycarp responded, you threaten me with a fire that lasts but for an hour, and then it is extinguished. But you know nothing of the fire of eternal judgment, which burns forever and ever. Bring what you will. And so the fire was prepared. And Polycarp, singing hymns, praying and proclaiming the gospel from the stake, brought many people to Christ in the stadium as he died in the arena. The year was 155 AD and the date was the 22nd of February. What is it about a man at the very worst of circumstances that can behave in such an exemplary way that people would be talking about it 1,850 years later? Polycarp plainly trusted Christ. And obviously God gave grace, supernatural grace for Polycarp in this hour of trial. But there's also something of a human explanation for Polycarp's remarkable courage and behavior. Polycarp was mentored. He was discipled by somebody who knew Christ in a most unique way. Because Polycarp was discipled by the Apostle John. Thousands thronged around Christ. Hundreds followed him. But a dozen became his disciples. And of those twelve disciples, three were in a circle. Peter, James, and John. And John is described as the disciple whom Jesus loved. The relationship that the Lord Jesus had with John was unique. He was certainly the closest friend the Lord had on earth. And it can be summed up in these words, John trusted Jesus. Look at the words that he read. Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover during the feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that He did, but Jesus did not commit himself to them because he knew all men. In Jerusalem, many believed in Jesus, but Jesus didn't believe in him. Many committed themselves to Christ, but he wouldn't commit himself to them. Many trusted in Christ, but Christ did not trust them. Why? He saw that they were trusting him because of the signs that he was doing. They were impressed by the miracles. Well, of course, those would be very impressive. But Jesus knew their heart motivations. They believed when they saw the miraculous signs he was doing. But what does that mean? Would they stand when there was any opposition? As the cost of discipleship increases, the numbers decrease. In fact, the numbers plummet. At the first church picnic, there were over 5,000 people. It's well known, if you want a good attendance for an event, offer food, and the attendance will be much better. So there were 5,000 to First Church Picnic. At the First Church Sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, there were a few hundred, estimated about 600 from what we can tell. At the first prayer meeting, the Pentecost prayer meeting, when our Lord commanded men and women to gather and to pray day and night for the power from on high to fall upon them, there were 120 gathered in the upper room for the Pentecost prayer meeting. When it came to the first midweek evangelistic outreach, the first door-to-door street evangelism, there were 70 who went out, two by two, to evangelize in the highways and the byways and amongst the hedges. When it came to daily discipleship, when the Lord wanted men and women to be with Him day and night to follow Him where He was, there were 12 men and 5 women who followed Him daily. And of those 12 men, one betrayed Him, one denied Him, Another doubted him and they all fled and forsook him when he was arrested. And of those 12 men, only the Apostle John went all the way to stand at the foot of the cross with the woman disciples and identify with Christ. It is an hour of greatest humiliation and suffering. As the cost of discipleship increases, the numbers plummet. When we look at John's life, we see John trusted Jesus. John trusted Jesus enough to forsake prosperity. Most of the followers of Jesus were not well-off people, but John's family was well-off. was a man who worked in a family business owned by his father Zebedee in Northern Galilee. They had a second house in Jerusalem where they would frequently stay. They had family servants. John had really access to famous and important people like the household of the high priest Caiaphas. John's family was well off. But one day John was captivated by a man who spoke like no other man had ever spoken. and he was drawn to him. He could not have understood all of whom Jesus was or the full implications of his teachings yet, but he sensed the power and the presence of God in this teacher from Nazareth. And when Jesus said, follow me and I will make you a fisher of men, John decided Jesus was worth forsaking comfort, safety, prosperity. He left it all behind and he followed Christ. John also trusted Jesus enough to risk his own life for Him. At the Mount of Crucifixion at Golgotha on Calvary, other than the woman disciples, only John turned up and stood at the foot of the cross and identified with Him. All the men had fled. They had abandoned the Lord in fear, a very realistic fear, that His fate could become their own. There was every likelihood that the disciples might be arrested and be crucified as Jesus was being. There was every probability that they would be arrested and yet John risked his life and stood at the foot of the cross and identified with his Lord at this time of what seemed like defeat, disgrace and disaster. John had followed Jesus when miracles were being performed, when the Lord was multiplying the loaves and the fishes, when the crowds were applauding him and shouting, Hosanna, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the highest. It's easy to follow Christ on Palm Sunday. when the crowds are adoring him and throwing the cloaks and palm fronds in front of him and shouting his praises. Thousands did that. But how many of those crowds who were crying, Hosanna, hail him, on Sunday, were shouting, nail him, just a few days later. Release Barabbas, crucify Christ, his blood be upon us and our children. We have no king but Caesar. Crucify Christ. It's one thing to follow Jesus when the thousands are following and applauding him. It's another to follow him when he is disgraced, humiliated, stripped, bleeding, whipped, dying, powerless, nailed to a cross, dying a shameful criminal's death. But John trusted Jesus enough to risk his own life and to identify with him at the worst of times when there seemed no reason to trust in Christ. John still trusted Christ. One missionary to Uganda, Alexander McKay, said, I want to remind the missionary committee that within six months they'll probably hear that one of us is dead. But when that news comes, do not be downcast, but send someone else immediately to take the vacant place. In fact, within a few months, several of the mission team had been murdered, others had died of disease. Within two years, Alexander McKay was the only sole surviving member of that mission team of eight that had been sent out, just a short time before. He survived an incredible 12 years in Uganda and became what Henry Morton Stanley called the best missionary to Africa since David Livingstone. Roland Bingham, a missionary to Nigeria vowed, I will open up Africa to the gospel or I will die in the attempt. Now that kind of single-minded determination and devotion to duty can also be seen in the example of Nat Saint and the five missionary marches of amongst the Orca Indians in Ecuador in South America, who back in the 1950s gave their lives taking the gospel to these Wodani savage tribesmen who had never been reached before. And that saint wrote, the way I see it, we ought to be willing to die. In the military we were taught that to obtain our objectives we had to be willing to be expendable. Missionaries must face that same expendability. And people who do not loathe the Lord ask us why we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are also expending their lives. And when the bubble is burst they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted. John trusted Jesus in the worst of circumstances and followed Him where no one else was doing it. He trusted Jesus enough to forsake prosperity, he trusted Jesus enough to risk his life for him, and he trusted Jesus enough to remain anonymous. It's a fascinating fact that in the gospel that we have just read, which says John's gospel, He didn't call it John's Gospel, it was called the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was Polycarp who identified John as the author, and over the years we have changed the Gospel according to St. John, the Gospel according to St. Mark, to just Mark, Matthew, John, Luke. But that's not the way they named their Gospels, of course. John doesn't mention himself by name in the whole Gospel. He refers to most of the other disciples. You read of Peter, you read of Andrew, you read of James, you read of Judas. But you never read the name of John, at least not John the Apostle. You read of John the Baptist, but that's another person. In John's Gospel, he refers to himself as the other disciple, or the disciple whom Jesus loved. He doesn't use his own name in his own Gospel. In his relationship with Jesus, John did not need to promote himself. He didn't start the Apostle John Evangelistic Ministries International, or something like that. The sufficiency of Jesus Christ in his life was an expression of his trust. He trusted Jesus enough to remain anonymous. He didn't need to promote himself. Christ must increase, I must decrease. There is another side to this relationship. John trusted Jesus, yes, but Jesus trusted John. Jesus trusted John enough to write his own gospel. When you read the first three gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, they're called synoptic gospels because they cover much of the same territory and often very similar. Matthew is designed primarily for the Jews. It's written with an Old Testament fulfillment with a lot more Old Testament prophecy emphasized. Mark is written more for the Romans. It's more action, more the miracles of Jesus, less the teachings. Luke is written for the Greeks. It's overwhelmingly far more of the teachings of Christ in the parables, but still there's a lot of overlap between the first three Gospels. Often they have the same events in slightly different words or even word for word. But the later Gospel of John provides a tremendous amount of new information that we would not have otherwise had. John's Gospel is a completely fresh, different angle and perspective, different miracles are produced, different teachings. Jesus wanted more of his gospel told and he picked John to write that final gospel. And the final lines of John's gospel say that there are so many other things Jesus did that the world itself could not contain all the books that would have to be written if you put all the things that Jesus had done. And bear in mind that Jesus is the God of the universe, the creator. It's true. All the libraries of the world could not contain all that he has done if you actually detailed every prayer answered, everything done through all the days of all eternity. He had an infinite editing job. John had to edit down enough volumes to fill the library shelves into just 21 short chapters. And he had to leave out far more than he put in. And he had to get it right. John was in that inner circle of three. John had been on the Mount of Transfiguration. John had sat next to Jesus at the Last Supper. John had heard that whisper about Judas. John had information to give that no one else had. He had to get it right. He had to get the record straight. He had to communicate what God wanted to communicate, what was most important. And because John was trustworthy, we have these most beloved words of the scripture. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Unless a man is born again, he cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. God is Spirit, and His worshippers must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Open your eyes, look at the fields. The fields are ripe unto harvest. Those who have done good will rise to life, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, but make no effort to obtain a praise that comes from one and only God? I am the bread of life. All that the Father gives me will come to me. This is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose none of those whom He has entrusted to me, but I will raise them up on the last day. Whoever believes me, as the scripture says, out of his innermost being will flow rivers of living water. I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness. Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more. If any man is thirsty, let him come unto me and drink. You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. Whom the Son sets free shall be free indeed. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies. I am the way, the truth, and life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Greater love has no one in this than that he lay down his life for another. These and so many other passages you only find in John's gospel. John is the one who put these down first. Jesus trusted John and John trusted Jesus. And Jesus trusted John not only to write his gospel but he trusted him with his love. Now it's an extraordinary thing to be described as the disciple whom Jesus loved. To be Jesus' best friend, it almost seems inappropriate for God to have a best friend, but that's what the relationship was. We read that Enoch walked with God. We read that Enoch pleased God, and Enoch was taken up to be with God. That's about all we know about Enoch, but what an epitaph. Enoch walked with God, and Enoch pleased God. We read that Abraham was God's friend. We read that Moses spoke to God face to face. David is described as a man after my own heart. Imagine having God describe you as a man after your own heart. What would it be like if we knew who was Jesus' best friend on earth today? Well, I can tell you what would happen. If that happened in this year, That person's face would be on the cover of Christian magazines. They would have CDs coming out. There'd be books that come out that go on international speaking tours and best friend of Jesus seminars. There'd be a tremendous potential of ruining that person's life. Can you imagine? A real temptation to arrogance and to abuse. It was critically important that the Lord chose someone he could trust to be his best friend on earth. Someone who would not misuse that friendship. Never do you see John trying to be the head of the church. Peter and James lead in church conferences. Andrew and John are in the background. They're happy to be in the background. It's intriguing to see how John was willing to be the least and to be the humblest and to be the youngest, which he was. Jesus trusted John with his gospel, Jesus trusted John with his friendship, and Jesus trusted John with his mother. In John 19, we read about the last gasping breaths of the Lord, whose excruciatingly painful crucifixion left very little breath for communicating any words. It was hard enough just to breathe. Every single breath to breathe required pushing himself up what should have torn more of the tendons and the muscles and bones in his feet to reach up that he could breathe more and that would again put more pressure on the nails through his wrists. It was an excruciating torture crucifixion. But the Lord said seven phrases from the cross. Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. It is finished. Into your hands I commend my spirit. And he also, looking to Mary, told her, this is your son. And to John, he looked and said, this is your mother. The last words of Christ on the cross were entrusting the care of his mother into the hands of his friend and disciple, John. Now while it's absolutely true that Jesus was and is the eternal Son of God, and that his main mission on earth was the redemption of his people, It's also true that he was a human being and when his stepfather died he was responsible for the care of his mother. Now humanly speaking he cannot fulfill this duty and so he entrusts his duties on earth to care for his mother into the hands of John. Jesus trusted John. Now I'm sure that you've been asked many times Do you trust Jesus? And I trust that you can answer with a resounding yes, I trust Jesus completely. I trust him with my life. I trust him with my health. I trust him that my name is in his hands. I trust Jesus wholeheartedly. But another question that should be asked is can Jesus trust you? Does Jesus trust you? Are you trustworthy? Can He trust you with your family? Can He trust you with the education of your children? Can He trust you to speak up for the pre-born? Can He trust you to care for His creatures? Can Jesus trust you to say what needs to be said, to do what needs to be done, to write what needs to be written? Can He trust you with hard assignments? There's a long line of people today who are willing to be successors for Jesus. Give me millions. Give me power and influence. I won't abuse it. I won't let it go to my head. There's lots of people willing to be successful, healthy millionaires with powerful ministries of influence for the Lord. But how many people are willing to be failures for Christ? It's much easier to trust God when you've got health and wealth and everything. But how difficult is it to trust God when you're a paraplegic in a wheelchair like Joni Eareckson? And yet, we need people who can be trusted by God, also with the hard assignments. A good commander gives his hardest assignments to his best soldiers. And the Lord gives some tough assignments to some of his people. There are people who have to be trusted by God to raise children with special medical and educational problems. The people who are being trusted by the Lord to show what it is to be a Christian with cancer, with kidney failure. with medical challenges and crises, with hard assignments, hard assignments untrusted to devoted servants of the Lord. It is actually an honour to be given a tough assignment. You don't give tough assignments to the people you don't trust. In 2 Chronicles 16, 9 we read, For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are loyal to him. The eyes of the Lord are searching through the world, looking for the hearts of those that are fully committed to Him, to strengthen them. I, the Lord, search the heart, attest the mind, even to give each man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. God can use suffering to alert us, to direct us, to shape us, to unite us. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight. The Lord's eyes are searching, He's examining our hearts right now. Are you fully committed to Him? Can Jesus trust you? Do you trust Jesus? Does Jesus trust you? Let us pray. Lord God, we thank you and praise you for who you are and for what you do. We thank you, Lord God, for matchless servants of yours, like Polly Carp and the Apostle John, We thank you for the inspiration and the example that are on. We pray, Lord God, that you may lead us to be trustworthy, to be faithful, to be effective as we serve you and follow you. All the days of our life, we pray it in Jesus' name. Amen.