WILL YOU REJECT HIM OR RECEIVE HIM?
John 1:10-13
INTRODUCTION: Talk about receiving bad Christmas gifts. [slideshow]. Typically, people do one of three things with a gift they don’t want: put it in the closet, take it back to the store, or re-gift it for someone else. Poll: fruitcake-people would rather have no gift at all. Unfortunately, some people respond to the gift of Jesus as if he were a fruitcake.
1) Why was Jesus rejected?
• He wasn’t recognized for who he was (10). The Light of the world was here but people were blind to this fact. The light of Christ was shining but the darkness didn’t recognize it. God was here in the person of Jesus Christ but the world missed it. The religious leaders had studied all the OT scriptures that talked about the Messiah. Yet here was the fulfillment of the prophecy before their very eyes and they didn’t recognize it. 1st Cor. 2:8, “None of the rulers of this age understood it [God’s secret wisdom], for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” If the world had understood Jesus they would have embraced him and followed him instead of crucifying him. Even Paul didn’t recognize him at one time. 2nd Cor. 5:16, “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.” There was a time when Paul didn’t see Jesus for who he really was. He saw him as a blasphemer just like the other religious leaders. They failed to see his divinity and simply saw him as only human. People today don’t come to Jesus because they don’t understand who Jesus is. They don’t understand that he is the way, the truth and the life. They don’t recognize that he loves them. Alan Perkins puts it this way: “Although there is truly nothing more desirable than knowing Christ, many people just can’t see it. Their eyes haven’t been opened. They look into the manger, and they don’t see a king. They don’t see the Savior of the World. They don’t see “the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace”. All they can see is an ordinary human being. And so, they pass by the child in the manger and instead seek after the presents. Which do you value more, the toys and trinkets of this life that will all eventually crumble into dust or a relationship with Jesus Christ that will last forever?” Jesus went unrecognized.
• He wasn’t received for who he was (11). Jesus was rejected by his own people. Imagine going home and being rejected by your family. “You’re not welcome here”. That might happen if we’ve done something wrong but Jesus had done nothing to deserve rejection. People didn’t want to accept that Jesus was the Savior. They didn’t want to accept that he was the Lord. People didn’t want to accept his teachings. Jesus’ teachings were radical. Take the Beatitudes. Jesus was teaching that one needed to love their enemies. He taught that one was blessed when they were persecuted. Jesus was challenging people regarding what was in their hearts teaching that it wasn’t just their actions that were sinful it was their thoughts too. The religious leaders wouldn’t accept him because his actions, as well as his words were unconventional. They couldn’t understand why Jesus hung around with “sinners”. They couldn’t understand why he didn’t want to be with them. People today don’t receive Jesus because they want to hold onto the darkness instead. John 3:19, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” Part of that darkness is pride. I reject Jesus because in my pride I’ve declared that I don’t need a Savior. Life may be going well for me. I might be well off. “I don’t need the gift of Jesus; I’ve got plenty of other gifts, thank you.” I might not have suffered from abuse or addiction. I haven’t been broken yet. Therefore, in my pride I think I’m doing pretty well and I don’t see the need to change anything about my life. But in my pride I don’t see the deep need that is still unmet. I don’t see the void; I’ve masked my pain through worldly success. I’ve convinced myself I’m happy in these external things but deep down there’s an internal emptiness. Part of that darkness is selfishness. I reject Jesus because I refuse to come under his control; his lordship. I won’t relinquish control of my life over to Jesus. Or perhaps there’s something specific I am unwilling to give up; something of the darkness that I want to keep. Therefore I reject the gift, not recognizing that I am exchanging life for death. Rom. 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I must receive a gift in order to benefit from it. I can’t take hold of the gift if my arms are crossed in pride. I can’t receive the gift if my hands are clenched in anger. I can’t accept the gift if my hands are holding onto other things. Is it really worth it to lose your soul in order to gain your piece of the world? Mark 8:34-37, “Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” We’ve been offered the best Christmas gift of all. Will we open it?
• We may be rejected. John 15:18-21. Part of taking up our cross and following Jesus is carrying his message and being willing to be rejected like he was. No one likes to be hated. No one likes to be rejected. It’s uncomfortable; there’s pain involved. It can be scary to have people upset with us. What if we lose their friendship? What if we become ostracized because of our devotion to Jesus? It can be risky to stand up and stand out for Jesus. But we are blessed because of it. Luke 6:22-23. Our willingness to be persecuted for the cause of Christ does not go unrewarded. When Peter and the other Apostles spoke out for Christ they were whipped and beaten. But Acts 5:41 says they left rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer for the name [of Jesus]. It was a blessing and a privilege for them to show this devotion to Jesus. When people today reject what the bible says about their need to be born again or the need to live a different life we need to explain that they’re not rejecting us, they are rejecting God. Luke 10:16, “He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” Their problem isn’t with us; it’s with God.
2) Yet some believe.
• We are reborn (12-13). “All who received him”. How do we receive Jesus? Many people believe the way to receive Jesus is to pray him into your heart. The problem with that is that you won’t find anyone doing that in the bible. We do, however, see how people received him in Acts 2:36-39. Receiving Jesus involves first being convicted of our sin, and then we believe that Jesus is the Savior and only through him, can we be saved. Then, because of that conviction and belief we repent, which is to turn away from our sins and turn toward God. Then we are baptized, calling on the name of Jesus for salvation. It is then that we are forgiven and we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “Believed in his name”. What does it mean to believe in the name of Jesus? It means that we believe in all that Jesus is; all that he represents. It means we believe in the meaning of his name, which is “the Lord saves”. Acts 4:10-12. This rebirth can not come about through our own efforts. Salvation is not accomplished through our own will or by our own means. It is not possible through any other person, any other teaching or any other god; only through the almighty name of Jesus. “The right to become children of God”. John 8:31-47. The Jews had prided themselves on being descendants of Abraham. They thought they were God’s children because of their connection to the bloodline of Abraham. Jesus pointed out that being a true child of God is in accepting and loving him. We are not all children of God. We might think we are children of God because God created us or because God loves us. But, like the Jews, we need to understand that being a child of God is not something that happens naturally, it’s something that happens supernaturally. Becoming a child of God happens when we become born through the Holy Spirit. John 3:1-6. We needed to be reborn because we were dead in our sins. We didn’t have the gift of the Holy Spirit. We needed to be reborn, born of God. We become children of God when we believe and receive. Gal. 3:26-29. At our baptism we were born of God, becoming part of God’s one, big, worldwide family. That is a true blessing.
• We are blessed (16). 1st John 3:1, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is because it did not know him.” What are some of those blessings we have received? The privilege of recognizing Jesus for who he is. The privilege of being able to grow in our knowledge of him. The blessing of having a relationship with him. The blessing of his love, wisdom, guidance, protection. The blessing of his comfort, his joy, his peace. These blessings are available only through Jesus. Part of the blessing of being a child of God is that we are heirs. 1st Pet. 1:3-4, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade —kept in heaven for you.” As part of the royal family we have a heavenly inheritance waiting for us.
• Amazing grace (17). It’s not that the law was a lie and Christ was the truth. It’s the fullness of these that are recognized in Christ. The law was given to point out sin and point out our great need for a savior since we were not able to keep the law. Rom. 3:20, “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his [God’s] sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.” The law was there to show us how separated we were from God’s holy standard. It pictured the reality of how far we fell from perfection when Adam and Eve sinned. Jesus came, not to abolish the law but to fulfill it; something we could not ever do. The requirements of the law had to be met over and over again but Jesus sacrificed himself one time and thus fulfilled the requirements of the law for all time. Heb. 10:1-10. And we, through Jesus’ sacrifice, have received amazing grace. For those of us who have believed and received we have been forgiven, and have received the gift of the Holy Spirit as well as an eternal inheritance with Jesus forever. This is the result of God’s amazing grace.
