The Disciple Jesus Loved Tells All!

Studies in the Gospel of John

Overview of the

John 20:30-31

After about 10 total years in ministry, I have learned that my spiritual gift-mix seems to include skills in teaching, training, equipping, encouraging, discipling, and leadership development among those who are already in the faith. However, I have found that being in ministry requires you to do things outside of your primary area of giftedness. One area that doesn’t come easy for me is personal evangelism. I have met people who can make eye contact with someone and before you know it, they’ve led a person to Christ. I have never been able to do that. I’ve never led anyone to Christ on an airplane or a Greyhound or a hitch-hiker on the road that I happened to pick up. And if the Lord ever wanted to use me that way, I would hope that I would be a candidate for that. But evangelism just doesn’t work that way for me. Evangelism seems to work best in the course of my daily life. I have been privileged to lead some to Christ, but it’s usually after some kind of relationship has been developed. Three books have meant so much to me when it comes to the topic of evangelism and how I can best do this. One is by Joseph Aldrich, “Life-Style Evangelism.” He talks about crossing traditional boundaries to reach an unbelieving world. Another book is by Rebecca Manley Pippert, “Out of the Salt-Shaker and into the World.” She suggests that we make evangelism a natural way of life. And the final book is the Gospel of John. John had a great strategy. He picked out seven signs or miracles (excluding the resurrection) that Jesus performed and used them to illustrate for the reader Jesus’ power, character, and sincere compassion for human need. So the signs point to the Savior. We’ll talk about Him momentarily.

Title: Each One Reach One – The Core Value of Evangelism

OUTLINE
Opening: Not everyone will be an evangelist. But everyone is called to do the work of an evangelist (2 Tim.4:5). Paul told Timothy to do the work of an evangelist. “Timothy, you may not feel inclined this way. But do the work of an evangelist.” What does an evangelist do? An evangelist seeks to clearly present the gospel, especially to the unbelieving.

Last year a group of 34 students from two state universities in Washington State took a study trip into the Amazon jungles of South America. They were led on the last part of their journey by Stephen E. Saint, who happens to be the son of Nate Saint, one of the five Auca martyrs, (Jim Elliot, Pete Fleming, Ed McCulley, Roger Youderian, and Nate Saint,) killed 40 years ago as they tried to make contact with the Aucas, properly now called 'Huaorani'. What has happened since that first day has been a miracle story. This last fascinating glimpse into the miracle was reported in just this week's Christianity Today (3/2/98).

This group of 34 had come to study what they thought would be Stone Age people. Steve Saint has a home among the Huaorani. Some of the very men that speared his father and the others have become like adopted grandfathers to his own children. He has been helping the

Huaorani develop ways of raising money for self-sufficiency, and he met this group himself.

The 34 students were taken by jungle bus deep into the forests as far as roads would go, where they were met by three Huaorani men, who led them on a 14-hour hike through jungle trails, followed by a journey in large dugout canoes to a campsite along a jungle river, where they were joined by other members of the Huaorani tribe.

The students quickly learned to respect and enjoy the warmth of the men who guided them. They were welcomed at the camp site, and were so comfortable with their new friends that they asked Steve when they would meet the Stone Age savages they had travelled so far to meet. Steve told them that they had been travelling with them—and they were now surrounded by them. The students did not believe him. So Steve Saint suggested that they ask any of the older people where their fathers might be.

One student took the challenge and nodded to one woman. Steve translated her reply something like: "My father is already dead a long time ago; having been speared he died." Four other Huaorani told the same story. One woman that had really "charmed" the students with her

kindness, a very warm and friendly mother of ten, pointed to an old man in the circle: "He hated my family and killed all of them!"

The students were stunned. They had second thoughts about their own safety.

Then Dawa, one of the quietest women spoke up. Pointing at the grandfatherly old man sitting next to Steve Saint she told the students: "He is Kimo. He hating my family speared my father and mother and brothers and sisters and took me for his wife." That really stunned the students. They were deep in the jungle. They had to depend on these people to get them out again. Steve Saint said he thought of what they must be thinking right about then. It occurred to him they didn't know the story we have heard so many times in Christian circles.

Steve put his arm around the old man Kimo's shoulders and told the students, "He killed my father, too." Then there was stunned silence.

At last someone found courage to ask: "What changed these people?"

Steve Saint repeated the question in the language of the Huaorani. The Stone Age people tried to tell the students how it used to be before they changed. They threw babies away when they were a trouble. They buried people alive so their spirits would not be able to return to torment them. Some had strangled their own children with their own hands. But then they tried to explain WHAT THEY BELIEVE about a God they knew as the Man-Maker the missionaries told them about, who had sent his Son to die for people who were full of fear and hate and revenge.

Then Dawa, the wife of Kimo spoke. I quote from Steve Saint's article: "Badly, badly we lived back then," Dawa said. "Now, walking God's trail which he has marked for us on paper (meaning the Bible,) we live well. All people will die, but if living you follow God's trail, then dying will lead you to heaven. But only one trail leads there. All other trails lead to where God will never be after death."

The students were silent. But then Dawa went on to give her own version of an altar call: "Have you heard me well? Which one of you wants to follow God's trail, living well?" The students were silent again-- and then one hand was raised.

Steve said that Dawa understood what that raised hand meant, and clapped her hands and said, "Now I see you well. Leaving we will see each other again in God's place some day!" Then she looked at the other 33 and said "Dying I will never see you again if you don't follow God's trail. Think well on what I have spoken so that dying we can live happily together in heaven."

Thirty-four students of anthropology, from Washington State, had traveled thousands of miles into a South American rain-forest to hear from primitive people about the most powerful life changing force in the Universe. They had heard how believing in the God of love and grace can release life-changing power that can only be called miraculous.

Key Verse: John actually states his purpose for writing this book at the end, rather than the beginning. Let’s look at this statement. It comes right after doubting Thomas believed in Christ as his Lord and God.

Exposition: John 20:30, 31 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples [The disciples were His witnesses. They could vouch for his credentials.], which are not written in this book [John has not exhausted what he has come to know about the Savior in writing this book. As an editor, John selected some key things to write about.]; But these are recorded [That’s a big “these.” The miracles, the signs, the resurrection, the changed lives. John told us about how Jesus changed water into wine (2:1-11); how He healed a royal official’s son (4:46-54); how He healed a lame man (5:1-18); how He fed the five-thousand (6:1-15); how He walked on the water (6:16-21); how He healed the man born blind (9:1-41); and how He raised Lazarus from the dead (11:1-57). What underlying purpose did he have for doing so?] so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name [The gift comes from Him.].

APPLICATION

Application: I see TWO obvious application points today – one for the unbeliever and one for the believer.

1. For the Unbeliever: It is time to believe God’s story as it has come to us in Jesus and the miraculous things that He did for us. It is time to personally say “Yes” to God’s story. You don’t need any more signs. You have plenty of evidence of His love right in the gospels. And because God’s story is true, we are called to lead a new kind of life in Jesus Christ. We still struggle with our lives, but we press on with the forgiveness we have received and challenge our generation to an all out journey with their God. Grace has already happened for you. Believe in Him decisively today and go on believing in Him tomorrow and live differently. Behind John’s entire Gospel is a God with a heart of love. He loves you and has gone to a tremendous effort to demonstrate and prove that to you. John 3:16: For this is the way God loved the world: he gave his one and only Son that everyone who believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. The one condition for eternal life is to believe. Have you believed – placed your trust in Christ to save you from sin and to give you life now and after death.

2. For the Believer: When John wrote this gospel, he was concerned about outreach and about community impact one friend at a time. John recorded several encounter stories where Jesus would make a statement, the statement would be misunderstood, and then he would further explain himself, all the while, making a friend in the process. Many believed in him by the time the gospel ended.

Quotation: Lee Strobel has a wonderful testimony of how he came to faith. He was an atheistic reporter for the Chicago Tribune who found the Savior through the ministry of his wife and Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois. He has gone on to become a great teaching pastor in the area of evangelism first with Willow Creek, and then with Saddleback Community Church in California. Strobel says: “When I was teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church, a French TV crew came to film a documentary on the phenomenon of the American ‘mega church’.” The reporter asked him, “If you could encourage pastors to do one thing to reach out to their community, what would it be?” Strobel replied: “Simple: Each and every church leader needs to build at least one strong, deep authentic and caring relationship with an unchurched person in his community.” Strobel explains: “Hang out together. Golf together. Go to dinner and the movies together. Come out for his son’s soccer game; invite him to your daughter’s piano recital. Build a vibrant, no-strings-attached-friendship. Talk with him about matters of the heart late into the night.” Don’t expect Christian behavior out of a non-Christian. If you and I are going to be true to our calling, we must be around some “hells” and some “damns”.

Question: “Have you had dinner with a sinner lately?”

Explanation: That’s a question that I saw recently and it sparked several thoughts. One of the key thoughts that it reminded me of was Jesus. That’s exactly what he did. He pursued the one’s that nobody else wanted to hang out with and ate with them. Matthew 9 says: 9 As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He said to him, "Follow Me!" And he got up and followed Him. 10 Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?" The fact that Jesus would do this reminds me of something that happened not long ago in Texas.

Illustration: We all remember the Enron debacle. Before Enron collapsed everyone wanted to be around Ken Lay. He was the mover-and-shaker, the CEO, and the one who could take you places. But when Enron went down, everyone scattered and quickly got as far away from him as they possibly could. That’s what the religious leaders did in Jesus’ day. They got as far away from the tax collectors and the immoral as possible. Well, I know what Jesus would have done at Enron. He would have run to Ken Lay “Now Ken, tell me where you’re at. How about turning things over to me now and let me lead?”

Observation: Jesus was and is the greatest, most attractive evangelist that I have ever encountered anywhere. Perhaps, one of the greatest evidences of this was when John said of Jesus, “He became flesh and tabernacled among us.” Jesus didn’t send a telegram. No bumper stickers. He gave himself transparently. Even though he gave up all of heaven, he never had an attitude about it. Can you imagine, if Jesus had had an attitude about having to coming down on this mission and spend 33 years in what at best would have been a remote assignment when compared to heaven. Nevertheless, He was delightful when with those who were wrestling with their ungodliness. Children loved him and people wanted to eat with him. He maintained his identity, even though fully submersed into the human experience. He was confident. This shows in that he had very little tolerance for the hypocritical and confronted them. He liked to be around honest sinners, not self-righteous churchgoers.

Application: I’m not a big “program” kind of person when it comes to evangelism and outreach. But I am big on “eating with some sinners” and being equipped to share the gospel in natural life settings so that maximum impact is made. When other people scatter away from someone, you run to them and stand by them. Be Jesus to them.

Key Word: There are two ASPECTS to this sermon today. I want to breakdown the main emphases of this book and then I want to jump to the very end of the book where John gives his statement of purpose for writing this work.

Background: With this in mind, there are three significant background points that really comprise the key to this entire gospel. Remember, a gospel is a story that involves characters, settings, plots, and statements that when taken together, reveal God’s truth to us, especially about Jesus.

1. The Deity of Jesus. Jesus is God. G. Campbell Morgan says this about the value of this book: “It presents the Person Who is the exegesis of God…In the Gospel of John, we look at Jesus but at the same moment we see God.” If you have wondered about what God is like, take a long look at Jesus and you will have your answer. John wrote: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (1:1).”

2. The Significance of Christ’s Seven Miracles and Seven Statements. John liked the number seven (7), perhaps because it symbolized completion, and he used seven signs or miracles that Christ performed to demonstrate that He is worthy of our belief and trust. John also recorded seven “I Am…” statements that Christ said. In some cases, these “I Am…” statements were linked to one of his miracles. Out of all the miracles that Jesus performed and out of all the things Jesus said, John chose seven key elements in each of these areas to bring people to a point of belief and conviction about the Savior. The “I Am…” statements would have particular significance to the first-century Jewish listener. God had revealed Himself to Moses with a resounding “I AM” (Exodus 3:14). Now, Jesus was using the same words to describe Himself.

3. The Emphasis on Two Key Words “Believe” and “Life”. The reason John shared this story with us is that he wanted to spark believing faith in his readers. This would result in Life Eternal. The key word in the Gospel of John is “believe (pisteuo)”, which occurs ninety-eight (98) times. It is frequently used in the present tense and participial forms (“you are believing” as opposed to “you have believed”). Apparently, John wanted to emphasize the continuing of belief, rather than just a one-time act of belief. John wanted to stress the importance of active vital trust in Jesus. What are we being asked to believe? That Jesus is the Son of God who takes away the sin of the world and gives life to those who follow Him. This results in another theme in John - Life (note the capital “L”). This term is found 36 times in John’s Gospel. Jesus is the Life and He has come to help us know how to be fully alive in Him.

Summarization: So if we summarized the book of John we would say that Jesus is God. To prove that, Jesus did things and said things that no one else has ever done or said in the same manner in which He did and said them. He authenticated all of this with the resurrection. The result is that we can believe His story and thereby have eternal life through Him.

EXPOSITION