Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20060305.htm

JOHN: TRUSTING JESUS AS MESSIAH AND GOD
Part XXXV: Heeding Christ's Nurturing Versus A Dominating Rule
(John 12:9-26)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

Many Christians face great manipulative domination by their leaders, a problem that is particularly apparent in the realm of money:

(1) A couple who attended an area Church years ago once were sent a "bill" from their leaders who had decided to carpet the Church. Though they could not afford it, the couple feared offending God were they not to pay it, so they paid it. When the pastor later retired, he boasted he left had the Church flush with $1.7 million in cash!

(2) On the national level, Pastor Rick Warren, author of the book, The Purpose-Driven Life teamed up with Zondervan to apply a secular "pyro marketing'" technique to make financial gain by way of the network the unity of the Body of Christ provided him. This plan aimed to get the "products to the driest tinder' -- those most likely to love it and spread the word." ("Earthly Empires," by W. C. Symonds, Business Week, 5/23/05, p. 88) Zondervan and Warren identified over 1,200 pastors who were willing to take their flocks on the book's proposed forty-day "reflection", and these pastors ordered 400,000 copies of the book at $7.00 a book. As their members in turn bought on an average five books each to give to their friends, they paid the full $20 retail price per book! Peer influence led millions of others to buy the book, giving Warren and Zondervan a $460 million gross return!

However, reasons Rick Warren gives in his book as Biblical support for its suggested forty-day program are simply not true! (a) He wrote (p. 9-10): "David was transformed by Goliath's forty-day challenge.'" (Dave Hunt, The Berean Call, 1/05, p. 6) In reality, David was present only the fortieth day when he first heard and then slew Goliath, 1 Samuel 17:16-50. Besides, Goliath's forty-day challenge had only terrified Israel's army, 1 Samuel 17:4-11, 23-24! (b) Warren wrote: "the spies were transformed by forty days in the Promised Land.'" (Ibid.) On the contrary, Scripture reveals that 10 of the 12 spies brought an evil report and were judged of God to die in the wilderness, Numbers 13-14! (c) Rick Warren wrote: "Jesus was empowered by forty days in the wilderness.'" (Ibid.) The opposite was true, for those were days of great weakness for Jesus after which He needed refreshing by God's angels, Matt hew 4:1-11!

Well, what does God think of such unbiblical, manipulative domination of His people?!

(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "Does God approve of ministers pressing our consciences to give more money, put out more effort and attend more services, themes that have long been used to dominate parishioners?!"
  1. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem in His "Triumphal Entry," He came in NURTURING CONTRAST to the DOMINATING ruling STYLE that religious and secular leaders practiced, John 12:9-19:
    1. Both Israel's religious leaders and the crowds thought Jesus' influence would produce a dominating force upon others, John 12:9-13, 17-19:
      1. The crowds seeking to honor Jesus indicated they wanted Him to present Himself as a Victor over their foes:
        1. News of Christ's raising Lazarus from the dead spread so widely that when the crowds learned He was near their location, they thronged to meet Him and Lazarus, John 12:9, 18.
        2. This led to their trying to honor Jesus by waving palm branches to signify Jesus was a Victor, and going out to meet Him crying, "Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord," John 12:12-13; Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 317.
      2. Israel's leaders were concerned that Jesus might become a threatening Dominator of Israel to the nation's great harm:
        1. Israel's religious leaders planned to put Jesus and Lazarus to death because Christ's raising of him had caused many Jews to switch their allegiance from them to Jesus, John 12:10-11.
        2. The feelings of the leaders were compounded by a bigger concern they had already stated in John 11:47-53: there they claimed Jesus' raising of Lazarus could make Him so popular the people might rally to Him, tempting Him to retaliate against Rome, a move that would lead to a Roman invasion and the fall of their power and temple, the seat of their influence, John 11:48; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978 ed., ftn. to John 11:48.
        3. Accordingly, Christ's "Triumphal Entry" into Jerusalem caused these leaders to feel helpless as they could not successfully kill Jesus in secret when the crowds flocked after Him, John 12:19.
    2. Yet, Jesus' actions in His "Triumphal Entry" revealed He came as a NURTURING ruler in gentle, humble, saving impact in great CONTRAST to worldly views of rul ing, John 12:14-16:
      1. Opposite the role of an invading military conqueror, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a young donkey, a symbol of great peace:
        1. Military conquerors who forcibly dominated others typically rode into the cities they sought to rule on a war horse with a crown or a sword complete with a military procession, Ibid.
        2. However, men rode on donkeys to signify they came in peace, Leon Morris, John (NICNT), 1979, p. 587.
      2. Christ's entrance into Jerusalem fulfilled Zecharaiah 9:1-9 that contrasted His arrival with that of conqueror Alexander the Great:
        1. Jesus' use of a donkey fulfills Zechariah 9:9 where it was predicted He would arrive as just, lowly and having salvation!
        2. This entrance was originally predicted in striking contrast to the feared, destructive march of Greece's Alexander the Great that is described in Zechariah 9:1-8! (Ibid., Bib. Know. Com., N.T.)
      3. So meek was Jesus in His role as Israel's King at this event that He did not even then explain to His disciples that He was fulfilling this special prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, cf. John 12:16!
      4. Indeed, Jesus did not reveal that He was THAT DAY fulfilling the Daniel 9:26 prediction that Messiah would arrive in Jerusalem at the end of the 483rd Jewish year (on March 30, 33 A. D.) after Artaxerxes Longimanus in 445 B. C. had ordered that Jerusalem be rebuilt, H. Hoehner, Chron. Aspects of the Life of Christ, p. 139.
  2. Thus, when Jesus NEXT heard that GREEKS of Alexander the Great's nation sought for Him, INSTEAD OF trying to SUBJUGATE them like Alexander had done to others, Jesus noted He would go to the CROSS to provide these Greeks SALVATION of the SOUL, a feat the Father would later honor, John 12:20-25.
  3. Having clarified He would take the cross-before-the-crown route to reign, a role that SELFLESSLY NURTURED versus SELFISHLY DOMINATED others, Jesus noted His FOLLOWERS would be honored if they also practiced His nurturing service, Jn. 12:24-25!
Application: (1) Though He did not rule as Messiah since His rule was rejected, Jesus IS the Messiah and is to be believed as such for salvation from sin and hell unto eternal life, John 3:16. (2) May we then heed Christ's EXAMPLE of NOT DOMINATING, but NURTURING others in our ministry of discipling other people!

Lesson: Unlike the WORLD'S view held by Alexander the Great, the crowds and Israel's leaders AND EVEN BY MANY RELIGIOUS MINISTERS TODAY, Jesus did NOT SELFISHLY try to DOMINATE, but NURTURE others under His reign! He calls us who follow Him to mimic His nurturing STYLE as we serve Him in discipling other people.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

 An event occurred at a restaurant last Monday evening that beautifully illustrates the main point of this message.

To relieve my wife from having to cook and wash the dishes as she had worked hard that day on the job, last Monday, we went out for supper to a restaurant in our town.

Well, when the head waiter led us to a booth, he seated us across the aisle from a table where a woman was seated who is a member of our Church, one whom we've known for decades! We exchanged greetings, and went about eating our meals as planned!

When the time arrived for us to get our bill, the waitress came over to announce the lady across the aisle had asked to pay for it! We of course were surprised and expressed our thanksgiving to this Church member and longtime friend for her gracious gift! The woman reported her motive sprang from her appreciation of our presence in that restaurant where she often ministers to others about Christ!

Now, this event would never have happened if this woman had felt oppressed by being collared by the Church to give more money in the offering boxes! It would have never happened if our leaders had called her up the first time she missed a Sunday morning, Sunday Evening or Wednesday Evening Service demanding where she had been! It would have never happened if she had received comments from me or other members of the Board as to why she was not filling some needy role in the nursery or choir or some youth ministry function! No, she did this because she had been nurtured in the Lord through the ministry of the Church and by it leaders!

When we left the restaurant, I felt like I had been "spoiled rotten"! What had happened signified a whole lot of things about our Church's ministry and body life were in proper order before the Lord! For a Pastor like myself, "It just doesn't get any better than that!"



May we as a Church CONTINUE to live and serve as JESUS did -- in a NURTURING way, NOT in a DOMINATING way as so many in even religious circles do! In DOING so, God will bless and make us a blessing to one another and to those outside the Christian faith that they may be attracted to the NURTURING Lord we serve, and believe on Him to be saved!