NO MAN EVER SPOKE LIKE THIS MAN!
John 7:31-32, 45-46
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: Difference btw Perception & Reality
1. There was a poor shop-keeper who was next door to a French restaurant. Every day at lunch time, he would go out the back of his shop and eat his baloney sandwich while smelling the wonderful odors coming from the restaurant's kitchen.
2. One day, he was shocked to receive a bill from the restaurant for ‘enjoyment of food.’ So he went to the restaurant and said, “What’s this?” The manager said, "You’re enjoying our food, so you should pay us for it."
3. The shop-keeper refused to pay and the restaurant sued him.
At the hearing the restaurant presented their case that the shop-keeper sat outside their kitchen & smelled their food while eating his lunch. “We’re providing added value to his poor food and we deserve to be compensated for it."
4. The judge turned to the shop-keeper and said, "What do you say to that?" The shop-keeper said nothing; just stuck his hand in his pocket and rattled the few coins he had inside.
5. The judge asked him, "What’s the meaning of that?"
The shop-keeper replied, "I’m paying for the smell of his food with the sound of my money.”
B. TEXT
31 And many of the people believed in Him, and said, “When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?”32 The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him. 45 Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why have you not brought Him?” 46 The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man!” (NKJ)
C. THESIS
1. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live during the time Jesus walked on the Earth and to have gotten to see and hear Him yourself?
2. How would He compare to anyone else you've ever met?
3. We're going to look at what happened when a group of men who were prejudiced against Him actually heard Him for themselves.
4. The title of this message is, "No Man Ever Spoke Like This Man!"
I. CIRCUMSTANCES OF THIS STATEMENT
A. JEWISH LEADERS TRY TO ARREST JESUS
1. It was the Feast of Tabernacles. The chief priests and Pharisees were contriving how to stop Christ. Despite its being the greatest Day of the Feast, these “spiritual leaders” didn’t bother to attend; they were holed up in the council chamber, waiting for the soldiers to arrest Jesus and bring Him in.
2. The men sent were professional soldiers, tough guys that were used to having to do unpleasant jobs, like beating people, arresting people, hearing people beg -- and they learned to harden their hearts and do their job.
3. They were trained to obey orders. Not arresting someone would lead to them losing their job and probably being punished for letting a fugitive escape.
4. For several days, these incognito soldiers mingled with the crowd, waiting for an opportunity to arrest Jesus. During that time, they heard Him speak. When officers returned without Him, all they could say was, “No man ever spoke like this Man!”
5. The behavior of these men -- coming back empty handed, saying what they said -- indicates the magnitude of the supernatural experience they had. All their training and professional behavior was swallowed up in the wonder of the person of Jesus!
6. YOU SEE, THEY COULDN’T ARREST JESUS, BECAUSE JESUS ARRESTED THEM FIRST!
B. WHEN THE SKEPTIC HEARD WHITEFIELD
1. It reminds me of the true story of a hardened skeptic who one day decided to go and see the famous preacher George Whitefield. Whitefield had become extremely popular and the skeptic wanted to see what this man looked like.
2. When the skeptic arrived at the field, Whitefield was already surrounded by hundreds of people, so the only way for him to see him was to climb a nearby tree.
3. He climbed up, nestled in a branch, and then put his fingers in his ears. He wanted to SEE Whitefield, but didn't want to be influenced by his preaching.
4. However, after a few minutes a fly landed on his nose. He tried several methods to scare the fly away; none worked. At the precise moment he pulled his fingers out of his ears to flick the insect away, Whitefield shouted out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
5. Impressed by this coincidence, the skeptic kept listening. Whitefield was speaking on people refusing to hear God's voice.
6. After much soul searching, the skeptic embraced the Christian faith and became a devout Christian. He often wondered what would’ve happened if that fly hadn't landed on his nose!
C. THE UNIVERSAL POWER OF CHRIST’S WORDS
1. It wasn’t only one or two of the soldiers who were overwhelmed with the wonder of Jesus, but all of them! Not one escaped the effects of His mastering presence and anointing!
2. It reminds me of the time (1 Sam. 19:19-23) King Saul sent troops to arrest David when he was with the prophet Samuel -- 3X troops were sent. Samuel held church. As the soldiers came into the service, they fell under the anointing!
3. Finally King Saul himself came and he too succumbed to the anointing and was arrested by the Holy Spirit, instead of arresting David!
4. That’s what Jesus did to the officers!
II. WAS THERE EVER A GREATER LEADER?
A. THE GREATEST SPOKESMAN OF ALL TIME
1. A study was done to determine the “35 Greatest Speeches in World History,” which included the impact of the speeches on humanity (Art of Manliness.com).
2. They listed great ancient speakers such as Socrates, Demosthenes, Cicero, and Alexander the Great. They listed…
3. Winston Churchill’s "Their Finest Hour;" Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address; Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream;" Patrick Henry's "Give me Liberty, or Give me Death;" Mahatma Gandhi's "Quit India;" Ronald Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall" speech, and many others, were listed.
4. But no matter how great these leaders were, the authors of “The 35 Greatest Speeches” were forced to conclude that Jesus of Nazareth was the greatest communicator of all time!
5. They commented, “Whether one believes that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God…it’s impossible to deny the impact of perhaps the world’s most famous speech: The Sermon on the Mount. No speech has been more pondered, more influential, or more quoted. Billions of believers have adopted as their…goal….the standards of behavior outlined in the sermon…[for] the last 2,000 years.”
B. WAS THERE EVER A GREATER MESSAGE? JESUS’ WORDS HAVE LIFE-GIVING, TRANSFORMING POWER
1. All the social programs in the world CAN take a drunk and put new clothes on the man, BUT THEY CAN’T put a ‘new man’ in the old clothes.
2. But the Gospel of Jesus Christ has a power to revolutionize men and women from the inside out.
3. Programs like Teen Challenge have an 80% success rate (unparalleled by other programs) because of the “Jesus” factor.
4. The words of Jesus have a power in them that can transform your life. His disciples once said of Him, "Who else has the Words of everlasting Life?"
5. HUMOR: FIRST YOU GOTTA SIN
a. A Sunday School teacher was teaching her class of 2nd graders about salvation. After concluding her lesson, she asked the class what was the first step to being saved.
b. One little mischievous boy raised his hand and said, “The first thing you need to do to be saved is, first you gotta SIN!”
6. This is a DYING WORLD, but Jesus provides a SAVING REMEDY, to restore all of our lost joy.
C. HAS ANY SPOKEN WITH GREATER AUTHORITY?
1. Jesus never Winked at Wickedness, Excused Sin, Fawned on the Famous, or Pandered to the Populace.
2. When they tried to catch Him in His words, He said, “Show Me a [coin]. Who’s portrait & inscription’s on it? “Render to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and to God that which is God’s.”
3. When Pilate said, “What is truth?” (Jn. 18:38), Jesus answered, “I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man comes to the Father except by Me!” (Jn. 14:6).
4. Jesus said He’s the only way to Heaven, the only Savior from sin. He said, “If you don’t believe that I am the One I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins” John 8:24B.
5. He said if you kept His words, you’d never see death! (John 8:51).
6. ILLUSTRATION: HOW LONG IS YOUR LIFE?
a. A woman took a package to the post office to mail and was told it would cost $15.40 for fast delivery, or $1.30 for slower delivery.
b. "There’s no hurry," she told the clerk, "just as long as the package is delivered in my lifetime."
c. The postal employee smiled and said, "Well, then, maybe we need to send it overnight express!" Point? None of us know how soon we will die!
III. WHAT HIS WORDS TEACH US ABOUT HIM
A. JESUS SAID THE BIBLE WAS WRITTEN ABOUT HIM (LK. 24:44; John 5:39)
1. When Jesus stilled the storm, His disciples said, "What manner of Man is this? For even the winds and the waves obey him!"
2. Jesus healed every sickness; drove out every demon; held the children in his arms; encouraged the depressed and lifted up the fallen. He showed mercy to those who deserved judgment. He prayed for his persecutors.
3. Though being infinitely rich, he made himself poor for our sakes. Though being the King of the universe, he humbled himself to wash our feet.
4. He was the Garden of Eden’s tree of life. He was Abel’s acceptable sacrifice. He was Noah's Ark of salvation in the flood. He was Abraham's RAM offered in the place of Isaac.
5. He was Israel's Passover lamb, protecting them from the death Angel in Egypt. He was Moses rod with which he divided the waters.
6. He was the Tabernacle in the wilderness. He was Joshua's captain of the armies of the Lord. He was Rahab's Scarlet cord in the window; He was Gideon’s sword and David's sling and stone.
7. He was Daniel's lion tamer and the fourth man in the furnace of fire. He was Isaiah's "Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).
8. He was Zechariah’s fountain for cleansing opened in the house of David (13:1). That's what we can sing, "There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins; and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains."
9. He is Malachi's Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings (4:2). He’s the Rose of Sharon, the Bright and morning star, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
B. OUR RESPONSE TO THIS MAN
1. At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow! The Billionaires of the world will bow; the Tech Moguls, the Hollywood Elites, the Scientists, the Educators, the Politicians, even the Atheists of all ages will Bow.
2. The Religious Leaders will bow. Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius, the Pope’s, and all the rest will fall at His Feet and confess that he is Lord!
3. He reigns! He reigns in heaven! The question is, Does He reign over your life?
4. If we turn to Him, we’ll find Him gracious and forgiving. That’s why He told the woman caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.” John 8:7,11. He prayed from the cross, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. In 1980, a young lady entered the Boston Marathon. She started the race looking great. As the runners approached the finish line, she was leading the pack by a country mile, breaking all kinds of records. The crowd applauded as she crossed the finish line and she was crowned champion.
2. It was suspicious however, that a woman who had never won a marathon before could win the Boston Marathon. Officials began to examine the cameras along the route.
3. It was discovered that after she began the race she exited the race and got on the subway and rode it for 16 miles! She got back on the route and crossed the finish line first. She was, of course, disqualified from the race.
4. You know, 93% of people think they’re going to heaven. But just like you have to follow the rules to win the Boston Marathon, you have to follow the rules to hear God say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
5. Is God going to examine your race and say, "You lose the medal, because you didn't faithfully follow the rules." (Tony Evans #285.)
B. THE CALL
1. Jesus said, “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mk. 1:15.
2. TO A MAN SEEKING CONFUSED ABOUT SPIRITUAL THINGS, “You must be born again!” John 3:3,5.
3. “For God so loved the world that He gave…” “Greater love has no one than this: that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command” Jn. 15:13-14.
4. His name is greater than cancer, diabetes, or leukemia. His name is bigger than drugs or alcohol; bigger than any lust torments you. There is no fear that can bind you, no darkness that can blind you, no deception that can hold you in the Name of Jesus!
5. Let Jesus do a MIRACLE in you this morning! “No man ever spoke like this man!”
