May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Well, how in the world do we kick this thing off? That's a question that I've been wrestling with for the past few days. Most of us have been looking forward to this moment for months and there has been so much build-up and so much expectation. What could I possibly say that would be fitting in this moment? Couldn't come up with anything. I really do feel like there aren't words that would be fit this situation. Now the logicians in the room might be thinking that to say there is no words is to actually violate the very statement that there are no words. But hopefully the rest of you can understand where I'm coming from. from the first interview where I ended up getting caught out on a bike ride and was so windy that I could barely hear the questions, to the visits that our family made where my kids were so excited that if we moved to Oregon, we would get to live with the Dows, to finally getting here and being blown away by your hospitality and your graciousness to me and my family. This whole process has been insane. And while it has been months in the making, it still feels like a whirlwind, and it's difficult to comprehend. There were many valleys of uncertainty, and yet God always seemed to provide little assurances here and there to confirm that this is the direction that we should go. Even this week as I was talking to Michael after the elders meeting about whether to preach from behind the pulpit or whether to go up and preach from behind the communion table, he asked me if I had seen the sign on the pulpit. Interestingly, I had preached here a few times and I couldn't remember seeing anything up here, but I already had in mind what I wanted on the pulpit to remind me of the things that I needed reminding of. In John 12, the whole city is preparing for Passover. And some of the Greeks come to Philip, and they have a simple request that I feel all ministers have a responsibility to grant. They say, sir, we would see Jesus. That is what I feel convicted is my primary duty in word and deed, is to give God's people more of Jesus. And that is what I wanted mounted on whatever pulpit the Lord saw fit for me to preach from. Well, as I'm sure as your elders know, and maybe some of you are good at figuring out, when I came up to the pulpit on Friday to see what Michael was referring to, what did I find? but John 12, 21. Sir, we would see Jesus. To read that was just another affirmation that God's hand is in this. And as creepy and as charismatic as it makes me feel to say that I took that as a sign, it literally is a sign on the pulpit. So here we are. And that's just what we're going to do as long as I'm here. We are going to go and see Jesus together. And what better place to begin our journey doing that than the Gospel of John. We're going to spend the next year and a half or so, week in and week out, sitting under the Word of God, beholding the Word made flesh, and communing with the Word tabernacling among us by His Spirit. Now who knows what we're going to do after that, but by then you'll be so used to hearing about Jesus that when we're in Ezekiel and the sermon crescendos with Christ, you'll be wondering what took me so long to get there. So Reformation Covenant Church, if you are willing and able, I invite you to stand to honor the reading of God's most holy word and to prepare your hearts to receive Him. Rather than begin our series in John 1, we're going to actually jump to the end, because it's there that John gives us the lens through which to read his entire gospel. We're taking two verses from chapter 20 and 21, so you may just want to follow along in your worship order, but hear God's word. 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." This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. Now, there are also many other things that Jesus did. were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. This is the word of the Lord. May God bless the reading and the hearing and the preaching of his word and may he grant us all the grace to trust and obey him and all the church said. Amen. Please be seated. Now, a word of disclaimer before we get going. If I ever reference a movie, it is not necessarily an endorsement of said movie. It is not necessarily an endorsement of said movie, okay? You got that? That's the once asterisk for all. The usual suspects actually falls in that category. It's a movie that I've seen, though not one I would necessarily encourage you to see. I suppose many of you have seen it, and I'm not going to spoil it for those of you who haven't, but the entire movie revolves around a mysterious character named Kaiser Soze. He's almost an omnipresent character. Everyone knows who he is, and yet no one knows who he is at the same time. It isn't until the end of the movie where something happens and it allows the viewers to have an insight into the movie that causes you to want to go back and reinterpret the entire movie through that revelation. Now this obviously isn't an exact parallel to John's gospel, but it's close. He tells story after story about this Jesus guy. And then at the very end, John tells his audience why he chose those particular stories and how he expects the audience to receive his message. Just like the end of the reveal in The Usual Suspects causes you to want to re-watch the movie with your new lens, so it is my hope for us here this morning that giving us the lens through which to read John's gospel up front, even those of us who have seen it will want to now go back and watch it again and again, week after week, with John's intention in the background. So this morning we are going to look at three things. We are going to look at one, the content of John's gospel. What is it that he writes about? Second, we're going to look at the purpose of John's gospel. Why does he write what he writes? And third, we're going to look at the effect of John's writing. How should we respond to what he writes? So first, the content of John's writing. If you have your Bibles open or your worship orders, look with me at 20 verse 30 and the first half of 31. Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written. We see and hear from John that there are many other things that Jesus did that he didn't choose to include in this book, but John did choose these signs especially. Now we're going to touch on a similar theme toward the end, but at the outset we must point out that as great as he is in the Gospels, Jesus is even greater than we could imagine. Over the next A few months, we are going to see and hear Jesus say and do things that are incredible. And hopefully, week after week, we're going to be drawn to worship and adore Him in ways that we don't yet. But John is saying here to those that have already gone through his gospel that however amazed they are now, they don't know the half of it. You can almost hear John asking, you think you're amazed with Jesus now? You have no idea how amazing he is. You think he's worthy of your worship now? You have no idea how worthy he is. You think he's majestic? You think he's loving, you think he's gracious and powerful and wise. You have no idea how majestic and loving and gracious and powerful and wise he is. So yes, while Jesus did more than we could ever hope to imagine, we're in luck because he didn't leave himself unimaginable. While there aren't enough words to describe how amazing Jesus is, there are words to describe how amazing he is. To quote John Murray, though, we may never know God fully, we may know God truly. John fills his gospel with calling stories, and recognition stories, and witness stories, and conflict stories, and miracle stories, and passion stories, and resurrection stories, and even post-resurrection stories. The language we're going to see John use is beautiful. We're going to encounter amazing symbolism as Jesus is portrayed by images such as light and bread. water and wine, a vine and a shepherd. Like any good story, there are misunderstandings, there are conflicts and clarifications and repetitions. We're gonna see that the reality of Jesus brings great contrast between old and new, between light and darkness, life and death, temporary and eternal, disease and health, love and hate. John lays out his gospel very simply. He has the prologue that we are all pretty familiar with. There, Jesus is set forth as the eternal logos. He is the supreme wisdom, the great constant in the universe. God himself become flesh. And then John starts act one, the book of signs, where he spends 12 chapters telling us some amazing things that Jesus does and says. John says that there are many other signs that Jesus did that we don't know about, but he chose these specific signs for a reason. And the word signs is packed full of meaning with those who have ears to hear. The word sign is the same word the Septuagint uses in the covenant of creation. When God says, let there be lights for signs and seasons. And again in the story of Noah, where the rainbow is the sign of God's gracious covenant of his promises to man and creation not to destroy the world with a flood again. This is the same word God uses when He circumcises Abram. And He says the sign of the covenant is that this child would be born to bless the world. Right before the Golden Calf Rebellion, God tells His people that He's given them the Sabbath as a sign throughout all generations so that they would know that it is the Lord who has set them apart. But perhaps This word is used nowhere else more than with God's people in the wilderness. Here, time and time again, Moses, from God, uses the word sign to remind the people of the great and mighty signs God performed on their behalf in delivering them out of slavery in Egypt. And then in that famous passage in Deuteronomy 13, God warns the people that anyone claiming to speak on His behalf must be able to provide signs that come to pass, and also teach them to love the Lord their God with all their heart and all their soul, to follow Him and to keep His commandments. All that to say it is not an accident that John tells his audience that Jesus did signs. He records the perfect number of signs, seven signs. Jesus performs these signs as a prelude to the greatest sign at the end, the sign of the resurrection to which everything in his gospel is pulling. The first sign Jesus performs, rather than turning water into blood as a sign of judgment, He turns water to wine as a sign of blessing. And then rather than killing an official's son as a sign of covenant judgment, Jesus heals an official's son as a sign of covenant blessing. He doesn't inflict boils such that people cannot stand, but on the Sabbath, Jesus heals a paralytic and he invites him to walk. He doesn't send locusts to destroy the wheat fields. Instead, Jesus gives them a sign of blessing by feeding the multitude with bread. Rather than sending hail, Rather than bringing darkness, Jesus calms a storm. He doesn't condemn a man for being born blind and willingly making himself blinder. Jesus gives a blind man sight so that God's glory might be revealed on the Sabbath. Jesus doesn't leave men to perish in a watery grave. Rather, He calls Lazarus out from His. You see, those who respond to God's sign with unbelief are met with judgment. And those who respond to Jesus' signs are met with covenant blessing. John's first book, the book of signs, is meant to call his audience to that same crossroad. Will you continue in unbelief and receive death? Or will you believe and receive life? After John's first 12 chapters, John embarks on his second act, the book of glory. There John spends chapters 13 through 20 showing Jesus, preparing his followers for their new life after Jesus' suffering, death, and glorification. It is in those chapters that Jesus washes his disciples' feet and gives them a new commandment that they should have known and he makes promises to them. He explains to them that he is the true vine and they must abide in him. He prepares them for their future by explaining to them that persecution will come by nature of that identification with him. But then he promises to give them a helper. to comfort them in their time of trial. Jesus prays for them and then he's handed over to be glorified. He dies and he's buried. John concludes his gospel with the greatest sign of all, the resurrection of Jesus. And then John assures his readers that even though it may be hard to believe, what he is telling them is the truth, and it doesn't even begin to explain the half of how amazing Jesus is. Now hopefully that wets your appetite And it helps you look forward to seeing Jesus again and again over the next few months. So while John tells the same story as Matthew and Mark and Luke, he tells the story very uniquely and he tells it very beautifully. And that brings us to our second point. Why? If there are three Gospels already, why a fourth? Why does John write what he does? Why does John write with his purpose? Well, look at chapter 20, verse 30 and 31 again. 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 y'all may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, y'all may have life in His name. Let's repeat that last part. These are written so that y'all may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, y'all may have life in His name. John wrote this gospel. God preserved this gospel and these stories and these signs so that y'all might believe that Jesus is the Christ. I'll remind this of you often, but the you here is plural. And Texans do the second person plural better than anyone. So y'all are in luck. John doesn't just want you, the individual, to believe. He wants y'all, the community of faith, to believe together. Even those who believe need to do so together. But John didn't just want y'all to believe in the sense that you assent and affirm these truths merely intellectually. He wanted you to believe so that by believing, y'all might have the good life. The life in Jesus. John tells us that Jesus is the Logos so that we would believe that God isn't some impersonal, changeless force removed from creation like so many might believe. Rather, the Divine Logos, the true God, is so deeply personal and involved in His creation that He took on flesh in the person of Jesus. John wanted us to know that wisdom isn't just some collection of timeless principles, but true wisdom is found in the person and work of Jesus, who became a fool so that those of us who are fools might become wise and recognize that even God's foolishness is wiser than man's wisdom. That's why John tells us that Jesus is the eternal logos, supreme wisdom, and God become flesh. He wants us to believe in Jesus rather than alternative philosophies. John tells us that Jesus turns water into good, strong wine, not just to show us that alcohol is a blessing from God, but because John wants us to believe that Jesus came to rescue God's people from spiritual drought and shame by ushering in God's blessing. John told us that story so that we could see that sign is pointing all who would believe toward a greater wedding feast to come where those who believe that Jesus is the Christ might drink from the cup of covenant blessing rather than covenant cursing. John tells us that Jesus clears the temple so that we might believe that Jesus isn't like the religious elite who uses God's house to promote their own glory. Instead, Jesus was doing a new thing. He's building a new temple, a true temple, by giving His body. so that all who would believe would be built up in him and worship him in spirit and in truth. John gives us the story of Jesus and the woman of Samaria so that we would believe that he came to save sinners and give sinners eternal life. All sinners who come to Christ are now able to sing that wonderful song. All my life long I had panted for a drink from some cool spring that I hoped would quench the burning of the thirst I felt within. Hallelujah, He has found me, the one my soul so long has craved. Jesus satisfies all my longings and through His life, now I'm saved. These stories aren't just there to give us something to do on Sundays or to give us a rule book to try to live up to. They're here so that y'all might trust Jesus. And what's more, John knows that is not as simple as it sounds. His audience is being asked to believe amazing things. What do you mean this guy was from before forever? What do you mean He's here now? What do you mean He's going to be forever? What do you mean He said that if people believe in Him, then they're going to live forever too? What do you mean He's the only way? What do you mean that the only way I can trust Him is if He gives me a new heart and He removes the scales from my eyes and gives me ears to hear? What do you mean? Modernists, with their chronological snobbery, will tell you that people back then were simpletons and they were willing to believe anything. But now we know better. Even Christians, like Joseph Minich in Enduring Divine Absence, a wonderful book, by the way. I encourage you all to read it. He will say that now, in our secular age, as Charles Taylor put it, faith often feels like something we hold on to for dear life. And only now is the idea that God is not there a serious consideration for us. But that's not John's understanding of things. Over. And over again, the very people walking with Jesus struggled to believe. Mary saw him after his resurrection and she didn't recognize him. He visited the disciples and Thomas said he refused to believe until he could put his fingers in his side. You see, we don't struggle to believe just because we're moderns. We struggle to believe because this stuff is virtually unbelievable. That wasn't a shock to John, who likely struggled with unbelief himself, and it's not a surprise to God, who inspired John to write his gospel so that we might believe. John uses the word testimony and witness and truth over 60 times. That's three times more than all the other Gospels combined. This is courtroom language in the biggest case of all time. Listen to the signs. Listen to the teaching. Judge whether this is true. Is Jesus the Christ? Is He the Lord of the entire cosmos? What you believe about this question is of eternal significance and God is so gracious to put Himself in the dock for examination. There are almost 16,000 words in John's gospel, and the Holy Spirit put them all there so that y'all might believe that Jesus is the Christ, and by believing, have life in his name. John concludes those 16,000 words with these, bringing us to our final point. In chapter 21-25, now there are also many other things that Jesus did. were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. We set out to cover three things this morning. The content overview of John's gospel. What does he write about? Second, the purpose of his gospel. He wrote so that y'all might believe. And finally, we're going to look at the effect of John's writing. How should we respond to this gospel? We've touched on all of them, but what should this effect be? And that answer is somewhat two-pronged. First, if you don't believe, believe. That is the first prong. John 21-24 says that John's testimony is true. Everything you will hear, everything you will see over the next several months is true. You must believe it. Why wouldn't you? It's the greatest story ever told. These are wonderful stories, and they're all true. Reminded of Puddlegum's words in C.S. Lewis' The Silver Chair, maybe my favorite character of all time. When the Green Lady has trapped Eustace and Jill underground and tries to convince them that their world isn't true. Puddle Glum, in his brief moment of realistic optimism, says defiantly, one word, ma'am, suppose we have only dreamed or made up all those things, trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and even Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that in that case, the made up things seem a good deal more important than your supposed real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, ma'am, it strikes me as a pretty poor one indeed. And the funny thing is, if you're right and we're just babies making up a game, these four babies playing a game made a play world which licks your real world hollow. Well, the silver chair is a good story, and Puddleglum's response to the green lady is a good one. John's story isn't just the greatest story ever told, but it's the greatest story ever told, and it's true. Everyone believes something. Christian, atheist, Muslim, Buddhist, spiritualist, we all believe a story about the world that answers our questions best. What's the nature of ultimate and material reality? What's a person? What happens to a person when they die? What's the meaning of history? How do we know what's right? How do we know what's wrong? How is it possible to know anything at all? And then what behaviors, what personal life-orienting core commitments are consistent with this worldview? All people everywhere believe a story that they think answers those questions best. But at its very best, every single alternative to the story John is telling is the play world, or it's the black pit of a kingdom. But John's story, the story of Jesus Christ, licks all alternative versions of this world hollow. And what's more, if you believe Him, you will be brought into this great story forevermore. So that's prong one. If you don't believe, believe. But the second prong is for those of you who already believe. You believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and by believing, you know that you have the good life in His name. What effect should John's gospel have on you? Look at 2125. Now there are also many other things that Jesus did where every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Those of you that believe, you know that Jesus said and did all the things John's going to tell us. And you know that He said and He did them for you. And you know that you've been written into this great story of creation, fall, and redemption. But John tells us we don't know the half of it. He tells us that if every one of the things Jesus did and said were to be written down, the whole world couldn't contain the books. Frederick Lehman, quoting an 11th century Jewish poet, said it like this, Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made, where every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade. To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry, nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky. So while books are great and necessary, and John's gospel is great and necessary, the works of Jesus aren't only recorded in books. The works of Jesus are being recorded through y'all. Through y'all who believe. Jesus says in chapter 14, verse 12, truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do, and greater works than these will he do, because I'm going to the Father. No wonder John said the whole earth couldn't contain the books of Jesus's works. God is still writing his story. He's filling the whole world with little living books, with countless pamphlets, with those who trust in Christ. And he's been doing so for thousands of years. So if John wrote his book so that people might believe in Jesus, why are you writing your book? Why are you living your life? Is it so that people might believe that Jesus is the son of God and by believing they may have life in his name? Like the Jews in Jesus's time, people are looking for messiahs. They are looking for saviors. They are looking for the best story. They are looking for the good life. When people read your book, where will they think the good life can be found? Which stories do you tell? Will people watch and listen to you and think they can have the good life if we can just make America great again or if their favorite sports team wins it all? Well, they think they can find the good life by eating the right foods or marrying the right spouse or being the right kind of parent. Well, they think the good life is found in autonomy or retirement. Our life tells the story of where we think eternal life is found. If we think America is where the good life is, then we will promise redemption by constantly telling the stories of our favorite party and how we should be doing what's best for Americans regardless of anyone else. If we think the good life is when our team wins or our favorite player goes off, then our lips will drip with those stories. If we think the good life is healthy living, We'll post countless status updates about which foods offer eternal life. If we think wealth and comfort and retirement is a good life, then we will point people toward our version of the timeless truths and savvy sayings that we think got them there. If we think isolation and autonomy and leisure is the good life, then we will remove ourselves from community and seek after our own family's unique version of self-indulgence. But if we think that good life is found only in the person and work of Jesus Christ, then the stories we tell will be drastically different. We'll point them away from a political savior to a triumphant king. We will show that regardless of how little gluten or much tofu we consume, only Christ offers the bread of life and promises those who feed on His flesh will never hunger again. Christ is better than the best craft beer. He has the good wine. He has the cup of blessing. Christ is the only wisdom that offers eternal life to all who are willing to become fools for Him. He tells us that the good life is found in community with Him and in community with His people. If we believe Christ is where the good life is, then tell those stories. John believed there was a good life to be had, and he believed eternal life was to be found not just in the here and now, but in the reality that Jesus is the Christ. He's the Son of God. And so John bore witness. He gave his testimony, not about himself, but about Jesus, so that y'all would believe, and so that God's story would continue to be written through you. So I ask you, as we begin our journey through John together, which story do you believe? Which stories will you tell? Pray with me. almighty and everlasting God. You govern all things, both in heaven and on earth. Mercifully hear the supplications of your people. And in our time, grant us your peace. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.