This fall a motion picture called The Gospel of John [http://www.gospelofjohnthefilm.com] will be released in the United States. Narrated by Christopher Plummer (Captain Von Trapp in the Sound of Music), the movie is a word for word presentation of the Gospel of John. It features 75 highly respected principal actors from the Canadian and British stage as well as more than 2,000 extras.
SermonCentral.com has asked Dr. David Mains, the director of Mainstay Ministries, to write four new sermons from John’s gospel that we can feature during the month of September.
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Have you ever wished you had never been born?
Most everyone has felt that way a time or two. Life’s potential gets outweighed by life’s problems, making you feel like it’s not worth it to even remain alive.
Way back in 1946, Director Frank Capra made a movie about a good man who spent his days helping others but in the process life seemed to pass him by. When the film came out it wasn’t all that big a hit. Critics gave it mixed reviews. It barely made back its cost. But over the years It’s a Wonderful Life became a classic.
Like I said last Sunday, conflict is the problem a movie script is about. The conflict in this story is about a good man in a small town who unfortunately has few resources-that’s George Bailey played by Jimmy Stewart. Pitted against him is a mean character who owns everything in Bedford Falls except the Bailey Building and Loan. But Old Man Potter (played by Lionel Barrymore) will do anything underhanded, dirty, you name it, to get his grasping hands on that entity.
The movies we love have a good story line (which includes conflict), but they also reveal character development. Between these two ingredients, the story line is more important. But an audience will be dissatisfied with nothing except action. They want to understand the key people, to feel what they’re going through, and, if possible, see them through to victory.
I chose It’s a Wonderful Life as an example of this because most of you have seen it and the key characters are so memorable:
George Bailey-even as a boy he risked his life to save his brother from drowning. This kind of selfless act marks him all through the film. But George is an unsung hero who doesn’t know his worth as a person. Not that he’s perfect-as the story unfolds further revelations disclose aspects of his character we didn’t know previously. He gets frustrated and angry and discouraged. He despairs, even to the point of wanting to end it all. In the progression of Stewart’s performance we see a classic example of what should happen to the protagonist, the hero of a story, the main character-he’s changed as a result of the crises he has to undergo.
Mary Hatch Bailey is another main character. She’s George’s wife. She’s sensitive and supportive and feminine. It’s hard to imagine anyone else in that role because Donna Reed plays it so well.
The antagonist-mean, despicable Mr. Potter-is out to get whatever he wants regardless of who has to be smashed in the process. He’s a true villain and yet is quite believable. He’s not like the comic book figure or caricature. We really think we know people like this adult bully.
The person who precipitates the crises is Uncle Billy. He’s not really a main character, but it’s his mistake that puts George Bailey in his terrible fix. This often necessary and somewhat odd type personality is frequently the person who sets up a story’s climax.
Of course there’s also the lovable but bumbling angel, Clarence, who helps prove to George Bailey that his life has been valuable, truly remarkable, in fact, wonderful. But that’s enough of a look at the role characterization plays in a movie.
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This past week did you go see the new film I told you about last Sunday? If you did, you already know that my recommendation was a good one. The movie is outstanding-even better than expected. If you haven’t yet seen The Gospel of John, PLEASE make that a part of your plans for this week. My belief is that this is the motion picture about Jesus for which Christians have been waiting.
If you’ve already gone, go back and watch it with some non-church friends. Then tell them your pastor is talking about it in his sermon next Sunday. See if they want to come to church with you. Because you’ve seen it, you know there’s no ambiguity in the movie. It’s Jesus the way John’s gospel presents him, word-for-word. The theatre where it’s playing is ______________________________.
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Seeing John’s gospel laid out like this in a single presentation, I was quickly made aware of the writer’s use of characterization. The main figure, of course, is Jesus. Since he’s the focus of next Sunday’s sermon, I’ll limit my comments about him today. But in a good script the viewer needs to know why a given character acts the way he does. What his motivation is. That comes out so clearly in this film regarding our Lord…as it does in John’s gospel, take your pick.
The same is true regarding his opposition. We grasp why the Jewish religious leaders see Jesus as a threat. The Roman ruler makes sense to us, too. Not that we agree with someone like Pilate, but at least we know why he acts the way he does.
There are all kinds of interesting individuals in the Gospel of John-like Lazarus, who’s called back from the dead, and a nameless woman dragged to where Jesus is teaching, pulled from the middle of an illicit sexual encounter. We hear the dynamic prophet, John the Baptist, preach, and meet Mary Magdalene. There’s also a fascinating character who was born blind, but Jesus gives him sight. (We’ll get to know this man better next Sunday, too.) We discover a Samaritan woman-hated by the Jews and ostracized by her own people, but she wins them back. Then I need to also mention Mary, the mother of Jesus, always sensitive and supportive and feminine.
But to demonstrate how the movies we love reveal character development, let me focus this visit on the twelve apostles. These men appear frequently, and you realize, I’m sure, that the writer John was, himself, one of the twelve.
Turn now to John, Chapter 1, and let’s begin at verse 40:
40“Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ). 42And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas’ (which, when translated, is Peter).
43The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, ‘Follow me.’
44Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bedford Falls…well not really. What it says is Bethsaida. Either way, they’re small towns.
45Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, about whom the prophets also wrote-Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’
46‘Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’ Nathanael asked. [He’s not all that impressed.]
‘Come and see,’ said Philip.
47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, ‘Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.’
48‘How do you know me?’ Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, ‘I saw you whiel you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.’
49Then Nathanael declared, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.’
50Jesus said, ‘You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.’”
Note the word believe here. We looked at this word last Sunday. It’s John’s bottom line reason for writing. He wants people to believe that Jesus is the Christ.
In Sermon One I attempted to help you understand that believing involved more than just agreeing to certain facts. Yes, these men needed to agree that Jesus was the only Son of God and that he came to make it possible for them to live the way the creator intended-loving God and loving people. But beyond the history, there needed to be a commitment. As subjects of this new king, they not only needed to say, “Yes, Jesus, the crown is on your head,” they must bow before him to receive forgiveness for wayward acts and pledge to live the way their monarch said.
This wasn’t all understood in this initial encounter in John 1. It’s like Jesus said, “Yes, you believe and that’s good. But there’s so much more.” There will be a progression that takes place in the thinking of these men and the others who eventually make up the chosen dozen. That’s so in time they will become the leaders Jesus had in mind-small town people with big world-changing ideas!
John chapter 2 is about the wedding where Jesus does his first miracle-changing water into wine. Look at verse 11:
11“This is the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him”[-or, “they believed.”]
Hey, didn’t their belief in chapter 1 count? Of course it did. But again, these men would not be able to grasp the whole of what the Son of God had in mind in just an encounter or two.
In chapter 6, the 5000 are fed with nothing more than the lunch of a young boy. That night the sky is ablaze with lightning. Thunder is booming. It’s pouring rain and the wind is whipping around. The twelve are in one of the last places anyone would want to be when that happens-in a small boat out in a big lake. It’s in this precarious setting that the twelve see the Lord walking toward them on the water. This sight is more terrifying to them than the storm. But he rescues them and they think he is marvelous. They’re experiencing a high.
The next morning, Jesus is teaching the crowds and says some things that upset many who hear him. For example, He is the Bread of Life. Verse 52:
52“Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’”
Verse 60:
60“On hearing it, many of his disciples said, ‘This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?’”
If Jimmy Stewart played the part of one of the disciples, you can almost hear him say, “This is very diffi-I mean, yeah, it’s a hard teaching, Jesus, that’s what it is.”
Verse 66:
66“From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
67‘You do not want to leave too, do you?’ Jesus asked the Twelve.
68Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’
70Then Jesus replied, ‘Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!’ (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)”
Judas isn’t actually a main character, but he’s still integral to what happens. He’s another of those odd personalities who sets up a story’s climax.
Note also that none of the twelve responded, “Don’t you get it Jesus? We resolved the believing thing back at the wedding gig, remember?” That’s because what Jesus was asking for was a belief that would continue to grow as they learned more about him.
In chapters 13-17 of the text, it’s only Jesus and his twelve. This extended section of John’s gospel begins with the King washing the feet of his subjects. Then he breaks the news that there’s a traitor in their midst-an underhanded, dirty thief whose going to sell him out.
None of the other twelve have any idea who this might be. In response, Peter states boldly, “I’ll lay down my life for you.” That’s when Jesus responds, “Die for me? No. Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you’ll deny three times that you even knew me.” And that’s what happens. Talk about wishing you had never been born! That’s how Peter must have felt!
Jesus next speaks comfort to these men who were closest to him. Talks about the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Vine and the Branches says, “Abide in me.”
Toward the end of that evening meal the Lord talks more openly about his death. In chapter 16, verse 30 the twelve conclude:
30“‘Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to make anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.’
31‘You believe at last!’ [Jesus replies in the very next verse]
32“‘But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his own home. You will leave me all alone.’”
The truth is, for all the teaching they heard, for all the miracles they saw, for all the privileges they were given, one could still conclude that it took quite awhile for the belief of the twelve to mature.
But Jesus didn’t give up on these men he chose. After the crucifixion and the burial, look with me at John chapter 20:
1“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tome, and we don’t know where they have put him!’
3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and” [--and what? He saw and believed.]
That did it for John. It’s like the last piece that completed the puzzle was now in place. And he truly changed as a result of this sting of connected events he’s lived through. For John, there’s no more going back to where he was.
Not so for another member of the twelve. Look at verse 24:
24“Now Thomas (called Didymus) one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord’
But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.’
26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 27Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’
28Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”
And Thomas drops to his knees before his leader.
So as the gospel unfolds, further revelations disclose aspects of the character of these men we didn’t know previously. In time, it’s safe to say, however, that the twelve were dramatically changed because of the years they spent with the Son of God.
Each, save for John, would be martyred for his faith in various far-flung places of the world. Even so, I’m certain all twelve of these men would agree that he was given an incredible privilege - not to be exchanged for something else regardless of the offer. Name any of the twelve and his testimony is going to be “It’s been a Wonderful Life!”
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Do you sometimes feel cheated when you see what others have, or what they enjoy, or what they accomplish? You’re a good person but life has kind of passed you by like it did George Bailey. And are you looking now for fulfillment in avenues other than your belief in Christ? Are you thinking, “I experienced that and it was nice. It gave me peace and a sense of calm about death. But I’ve certainly not found Christ to be the end-all some people talk about.”
Maybe your problem is that you thought belief ended after that initial encounter with the Son of God. Then your believing just kind of stopped advancing. “Don’t you get it Jesus?” You said, “I resolved that belief thing back in confirmation class, or at a Youth for Christ club, or when Billy Graham held his crusade, remember?”
Maybe nobody told you that Jesus was looking for a belief that would continue to mature as you learned more and more about the wonder of who he is.
Seriously, how has your understanding of the Son of God been stretched in the past 3 ½ years? I use that figure for two reasons. One, it’s the amount of time the twelve spent with the Lord. Two, it takes you back in time to about when the new millennium began.
So what’s happened in regard to your character development as one of Christ’s chosen ones? Is your spiritual focus sharper than it was in the 1990’s? Are you learning to trust Jesus when the storm is in full tilt? Have his words about branches needing to remain in the vine gotten through to you yet? Do you have a more realistic grasp of what it means to be his servant? Is your prayer life improving? Restated, can you point out for me ways your belief in Jesus is still moving forward?
Don’t worry for the moment about your mistakes. That’s all part of the growing process. It was with the twelve. And we all entertain doubts like Thomas did, and in our own way, deny the Lord like Peter. On occasion we say, “That’s a tough teaching Jesus, you’re stretching me more than I think I can bear.” Nevertheless, you haven’t yet walked away from the Lord like some, have you?
“Come on preacher” I can imagine someone thinking. “It’s one thing to have Jesus there in person teaching you like the twelve did, and quite another to have to figure out everything for the most part on your own!”
Listen to me. Jesus is still in the disciple making business. The Spirit of Jesus who entered you when you, in that initial prayer, invited Christ to be your savior, will still speak very clearly if you let him. Let me pause for a minute of quiet. All I want is for you to be open to the Lord telling you what lesson about believing he’s wanting you to learn. Don’t try to come up with an answer yourself. In that minute you’ll have just let Jesus graciously drop his message in your mind. Again, that’s about how he wants your belief in him to grow.
Speak Lord, while I listen and while others of your followers do as well.
(One minute of silence)
In John 20 Jesus says some wonderful words to Thomas.
29“…Because you have seen me, you have believed, blessed are those who have never and yet have believed.”
I like that so much. It’s as though the Lord is saying to me and to you, “Blessed are those such as my followers in the year twenty o three in _____________ (church) who haven’t seen me and yet believe. They’re unsung heroes who don’t understand how special they are. But bless them, they just keep on believing more and more.”
30Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
And it’s a wonderful life when your belief in Christ grows the more you know about him. Treasure what he impressed on your heart in the minute of silence. Make it a new beginning in your life. Sometime in the week ahead return to the Lord in a place of quiet for further communication. Again, may I say in closing, it’s a wonderful life when your belief in Christ grows the more you know about him.
