TEXT: John 11:45-50
45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.
46 But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.
47 Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.
48 If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.
49 And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all,
50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.
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Today, I am continuing the daily Just Jesus Evangelistic Campaign sermon series, which is aimed at sharing the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with unbelievers and reminding Christians, in this important election year, to keep the main thing the main thing — and that is reaching unbelievers with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and praying for their salvation, for the problem in America is not only disobedient presidents, politicians, and people, but disobedient pastors, preachers, and parishioners who have refused to obey the Lord’s Great Commission which is to, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” and who have refused to obey God’s repeated commands to “pray without ceasing” for unbelievers, believers, and political leaders. Yes, you should pray for the right candidate to win; yes, you should vote for the candidate that the Lord gives you peace about voting for. But, don’t get caught up in it like the world does. Nothing much is going to change until people get saved and get their hearts right with the Lord.
This campaign is inspired by the following three verses: 1 Corinthians 2:2 which says, “For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” Acts 5:42 which says, “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” And 2 Timothy 2:4 which says, “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”
This series is not for Christians necessarily. However, I do hope you are one of those saints who still loves to hear the “Old, old story of Jesus and His love” — As another hymn says, “For those who know it best Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.” This series is primarily for unbelievers, so they can hear and understand the Gospel and be saved from sin and the punishment of sin which is hell. This is message number 169.
William Nicholson said, “Self-sufficiency is the enemy of salvation. If you are self-sufficient, you have no need of God. If you have no need of God, you do not seek Him. If you do not seek Him, you will not find Him.”
In the immediate aftermath of Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the dead, we see the same reaction from the Jews who were gathered there at Bethany as we have seen from the masses throughout John’s Gospel. “Many” who had come to mourn with Mary and Martha saw what Jesus had done and believed on Him. However, some who had come to Bethany with the express purpose of spying on Jesus were unmoved, and returned to Jerusalem to report back to the religious establishment. By now, we see that this is a theme running throughout Jesus’ ministry. Even though He only spoke the truth and did good works, He always received a divided response from the masses — some grew more confident in their belief, while others grew more vehement in their disbelief.
The latest good work by Jesus — raising a man from the dead — is apparently of great concern to the religious leaders because they feel the need to call a council to discuss the matter. The question they ask is: “What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.”
What is interesting about this little pow-wow is what is left unsaid. The Jewish religious leaders are now not so concerned with the question of whether Jesus is the Messiah or the Son of God. What can they say? They just had multiple eyewitnesses report to them that Jesus of Nazareth raised a man from the dead. They couldn’t argue with that. So their focus turns from figuring out who Jesus is to what they can do to shut Jesus down.
The religious leaders believe that if Jesus is ‘left alone’ eventually everyone would end up believing on Him. Their opposition to this outcome really shows where their heart is. They no longer oppose Jesus because of theological concerns or moral differences. They simply want to hold on to the influence and power that has been afforded them by the Roman government. Their chief concern is that the ‘Romans might come and take away both our place and nation.’
At that time, the Romans had allowed the Jews some autonomy to carry on their affairs without interference from the government. ‘Our place’ is a reference to the Temple. It is sad that the religious leaders thought of it as belonging to them, instead of belonging to God (a fact Jesus had to remind them of at least twice during His ministry). The Sanhedrin, the Jewish religious congress, should have been celebrating the fact that the long-awaited Messiah had come. They should have been Jesus’ biggest cheerleaders. Instead, they were only concerned that their status and influence were being threatened because of Jesus’ words and deeds.
When we are confronted with the person of Jesus Christ, more likely than not, He will threaten our way of life. His mere presence will cause us to see things in a different light. We will find that much of what we thought was right and straight and good is wrong, crooked, and evil. Only when light comes can you realize how dark a situation really is. The question we must answer, the choice we must make, is whether or not we will resist the salvation and life-change that Jesus offers in favor of the status quo?
That is a question you will have to answer for yourself sooner or later. I urge you to make a decision for Christ, no matter what it means you have to leave behind. Here is how you can do that today.
1. Accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 7:20: “For there is not a just man upon earth that doeth good, and sinneth not.” Romans 3:23 reads: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
2. Accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”
3. Accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” The Bible says in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
4. Accept the fact that you cannot do anything to save yourself! The Bible states in Ephesians 2: 8, 9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is a gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
5. Accept the fact that God loves you more than you love yourself, and that He wants to save you from hell. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
6. With these facts in mind, please repent of your sins, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and pray and ask Him to come into your heart and save you this very moment. The Bible states in the book of Romans 10:9, 13: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Dear friend, if you are willing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, please pray with me this simple prayer: Heavenly Father, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ’s sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please e-mail me at dw3@gospellightsociety.com and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.
God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.