OPEN: There’s a true story told about a plastic surgeon who had a patient that had been injured in a fire. The patient had attempted to save his parents from a burning house, but he couldn't get to them in time... and they died. His own face was burned and disfigured. And (as sometimes happens when overwhelmed by such tragedy) the man felt guilty because he had failed to save his parent - and he believed that his pain was God's punishment. As a result, he refused help from anyone, including the doctor. And he wouldn't let anyone see him—not even his wife.
When the wife went to talk with the Doctor, he told her “I can restore his face.” But, of course the problem was, that he repeatedly refused treatment and the doctor wasn’t sure what to do. The wife looked at the physician and said, “That's why I have come to see you. I want you to disfigure my face so I can be like him! If I can share in his pain, then maybe he will let me back into his life.”
APPLY: Our text today tells us that God had a similar problem. The Gospel of John starts out by introducing to Jesus. We’re told that Jesus was The Word of God. In fact, He wasn’t just the WORD OF GOD, He WAS God. He was God in the flesh.
But then we’re told there’s this… problem: “(Jesus) was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own… did not receive him.” John 1:10-11
Now, why wouldn’t they “receive Him”? Why would these people NOT want Jesus??? Well, the answer is revealed JUST A FEW verses earlier: “In (Jesus) was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in THE DARKNESS…” John 1:4-5
Now darkness is normal. At night… I like Darkness. I can turn off the lights and sleep. Darkness is a good time to rest. But extended lengths of darkness can mess with your mind
ILLUS: In Alaska, the nights can go on for … well, days. There’s a city called Barrow - it’s the city farthest North in Alaska - and there - the nights can go on, and on, for 67 days. And what they’ve found is that many of people who live in Alaska suffer from something called S.A.D. = Seasonally Affected Disorder. It’s a disorder where people suffer from depression because they’ve been in the dark so long.
Realizing how much this effects people, neuroscientists at the University of Pennsylvania experimented with rats, keeping them in the dark for six weeks. They found that the animals not only exhibited depressive behavior but they also suffered damage in brain regions known to be underactive in humans during depression. (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/down-in-the-dark/)
In the same way, S.A.D. causes depression in people who’ve been in dark places way too long. It robs them of their enthusiasm, hope, joy, pleasure.
Now, God knows that. And so, when God talks about the TRUE darkness in people’s lives He uses darkness to describe the effect that sin has in their lives.
For example, Colossians 1:13 says “(God) has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son”
In Ephesians we’re told that “at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light… Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.” Ephesians 5:8, 11-12
And Paul said that Jesus had commissioned him: “to open (people’s) eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in (Jesus).” Acts 26:18
You see, sin created darkness in our world. And that darkness - the darkness of our sins - had robbed us of God’s love.
ILLUS: Do you remember, in the book of Genesis. Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden and it seems that God would regularly come down and walk with them/talk with them. That’s where the writer of the old Gospel hymn got his idea for his song. Sing it with me:
“I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses. And the voice I hear falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses. And He walks we me, and He talks with and He tells me I am His own. And the joy we share as we tarry there; none other, has ever known."
Can you imagine how wondrous it would have been to have been Adam and Eve. Beautiful garden. Pristine world. And God spending time… with you. Just walking and talking with you like you were most important person in world.
But it didn’t last for Adam and Eve, did it? They ate of the fruit, they realized they’d sinned, and they tried covering their nakedness with leaves. And then… God came calling.
And what did Adam and Eve do then??? (THEY HID) “They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God …” Genesis 3:8
And people have been hiding from God ever since. That’s why John 1:11 tells us “He came to his own, and his own… did not receive him” They Were Hiding!!!! They knew their sin, and their sin made them uncomfortable around Jesus.
Now to be fair, everybody is just like Adam and Eve in the Garden. We all know we’ve sinned, and so our 1st impulse is to try to cover our sin (Leaves). But somehow everyone realizes - deep inside - the leaves just aren’t cutting it. We may THINK our leaves can make it so God won’t notice our sin, but when God gets too close to us we can get uncomfortable. And (before we became Christians) we may not have wanted anything to do with Him. We may not have believed God loved us as we were.
That’s why John tells us… “his own did not receive him.” These folks had gotten used to covering their sins with makeshift leaves. Some had tried to cover their nakedness with religious behavior by their good deeds and righteous attitudes. Folks like the Pharisees thought their own self-righteousness would cover up their own failures. But then Jesus came calling… and they rejected Him.
And some folks (like the Priests) thought their blood lines and their influence with powerful people would impress God - I mean – they were PRIESTS after all. And they had their religious titles and garments to keep them covered. But then Jesus came calling… and they rejected Him.
But there were many folks who just didn’t even bother thinking God would care for them. They were losers anyway – sinners/ prostitutes/ tax collectors. And they believed… God wouldn’t want them, so why bother pretending they could cover their sin. But then Jesus came calling.
Do you know why Jesus spent all His time focusing on the sinners/tax collectors. They were the only ones not hiding behind their fig leaves!!! These folks had NEVER thought they were fooling God. They knew they walked in darkness and they hungered for the light. They were the only ones who didn’t reject Jesus, because He didn’t reject them!
But now –the folk who DID reject Jesus (the religious and self-righteous) did so because of their sins. Their sins had cut them off from the love and forgiveness of God. They knew God hated sin and so, the idea that God could love them anyway was tough to accept. They were uncomfortable around Jesus because they were really uncomfortable around God. That’s why they did all the stuff they did. That’s why they tried to be sinless on their own. That’s why they clung to their religious behavior and titles and clothing. They HOPED God would see their leaves and be pleased, and then He wouldn’t notice the sin that lay beneath.
And that worked – until Jesus showed up.
ILLUS: It’s kind of like when you’re driving down the road. You know the speed limit is 60 mph… but you’re kind of in a hurry, and everybody else is driving faster. So, you do too! You’ve set the cruise control, you’re listening to the radio. Talking to your spouse, having a good time. You feel comfortable and at ease… all is right with the world. BUT then –you see this police car setting off to the side of the road. What do you do??? Well, you slow down don’t you. Suddenly your sin is obvious and you know you’re doing wrong.
In the same way – when people see God setting off to the side of the road - they realize they’re doing wrong and so they try to avoid Him. Someone once said: “Some people can't find Jesus the same way a thief can't find a policeman.” That’s why people can’t find Jesus. Their sins make them uncomfortable and so they try to avoid him, just like a thief would avoid the police.
ILLUS: Years ago, Billy Joel said this about his experience at church: “There's a guy... nailed to a cross and dripping blood, and everyone's blaming themselves for that man's torment, but I said to myself, 'Forget it. I had no hand in that evil. I have no original sin. There's no blood of any sacred martyr on my hands. I pass on all of this.”
But Joel has a problem. Without that guy nailed to that cross Billy Joel hasn’t a prayer. He has no way to deal with his sin. You see there’s a lot of people who think God is setting up speed traps. Like Billy Joel they think that this Christianity thing is all about God waiting by the side of the road… waiting to catch them in their sin and write them out a ticket to hell. But that’s not what Jesus is all about.
We’ve all heard John 3:16. In fact, repeat it with me: “For God so loved the world…”
Now, don’t it say it out loud, just raise your hand if you’ve ever heard the next verse - John 3:17. Most folks haven’t. It goes like this: “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” John 3:17
You see, Jesus didn’t come to condemn us and destroy us. He came to salvage us. To bring us out of our darkness. To restore us to God’s love.
Now… how did He do that? Well, He became just like us. That’s what Philippians 2:6-8 says: “though (Jesus) was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Jesus came to earth to suffer as we have suffered. To feel pain like we feel pain. To be JUST LIKE US.
CLOSE: Do you remember the story at the beginning of the sermon? A man felt guilty because he believed that he’d failed his parents. And his guilt shut him off from any form of help or love. Do you remember what the wife asked the doctor? She asked “I want you to disfigure my face so I can be like him! If I can share in his pain, then maybe he will let me back into his life.”
Now, of course, the doctor refused to do that, but he was so moved by her love that he went to speak to the husband. Knocking on the man's bedroom door, he called loudly, “I'm a plastic surgeon, and I want you to know that I can restore your face.” There was no response. So he called out again: “Please come out.” Again there was no answer.
Then, still speaking through the door, the doctor explained what wife had wanted him to do. “She wants me to disfigure her face, to make her face like yours in the hope that you will let her back into your life. That's how much she loves you.” There was a brief moment of silence, and then, slowly, the door knob began to turn. (In the book “This is Christianity” by Maxie Dunnam”. Surgeon: Dr. Maxwell Maltz)
That’s the story of God reaching down to folks like you and me. He became like us in the hopes that we’d let him into our lives. That’s how much He loved us.
But now, most of us have already made that decision to accept God’s love. We’ve realized that God could fix what was damaged in our lives and we became Christians. But there’s a lot of people out there who haven’t done that. And most of the time its because they don’t want to get too close to God. They don’t want to risk having their sins revealed in His presence. They may be good at covering up their guilt and shame… but all the same they’d just as soon not risk it.
And so they continue being damaged and deformed by their sin because they can’t imagine God loving them enough to forgive their past. And the only person who may be able to convince them otherwise is someone like YOU or like me who has experienced His healing first hand. We’ve got a great message – don’t keep it to yourself.
INVITATION.
