Jesus is LORD: Trust and Obey! John 3:31-36

 Jesus is Lord: Trust and Obey!  John 3:31-36; cf. Psalm 2

Introduction: In a famous poem, the Road not Taken, Robert Frost concludes,

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

I think Frost was speaking more generally about the momentous decisions a person might make that change the course of their life. There is no more weighty decision any human will make, than their response to the Gospel, “What will you do with Jesus?” John is likely writing his Gospel some time after the other Gospels were written and circulating. Under the inspiration of the Spirit he is supplementing those accounts with his own eyewitness perspective, and specifically presenting his case that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the Son of God, and calling the reader to believe, and find life in His name.

If you think back in this chapter, after Jesus’ dialog with Nicodemus in 3:1-15, it wasn’t clear if Jesus continued to speak in 3:16-21, or if that paragraph was the inspired explanation from the perspective of the gospel writer, John. We have a similar situation with these verses in that John the Baptist is speaking in 3:27-30, and then some Bible translations, like the ESV, close the quotation marks, and the editors imply that John the Gospel-writer is giving his summary and explanation in 3:31-36. That seems likely, but doesn’t really change anything, right? John the Evangelist is writing this Gospel under the inspiration of God, so every word is God’s Word, if we read it in context! As we look at these closing verses of John 3 we’ll see… 

The Big Idea: Faith in Jesus, the Eternal Word, Son of God and Lord of Lords, is the only way to true Life. We’ll take two verses at a time and consider, 1) The Problem: God has spoken in the Son, but sinful humans refuse to hear (31-32); 2) The Promise: Whoever believes God, taking Him at His Word, is born of the Spirit (33-34); and 3) The Two Paths: Life in the Son or the Wrath of God (35-36).

I. The Problem: God has spoken in the Son, but sinful humans refuse to hear (3:31-32; cf. Jn 1:10-11).

31 He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all.  32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. 

      We don’t want to lose sight of the context as we dive into these verses. John the Baptist had just expressed his joy at seeing the popular response to the ministry of Jesus, expressing the view of an authentic Christ-follower, “He must increase, I must decrease” (Jn 3:30). These next verses, whether spoken by the Baptist or the Gospel writer John, explain the propriety, indeed the necessity of that perspective. It is clear from the context Jesus is the preexistent One, the One “from above,” not of this world. As the readers of the Gospel, we saw the preexistence of Jesus, in face-to-face fellowship with the Father, powerfully presented from the first verse. John the Baptist is the one who is “of the earth.” Jesus came from heaven, yet no one receives His testimony.

     Jesus is the One who speaks for God and from God, the One who speaks absolute truth, the One who is the truth. John the Evangelist has already affirmed this rejection of the One sent from heaven in John 1:10-11…

10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.  11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

Earlier in John 3 as Jesus is speaking with Nicodemus he affirms that same truth…

“Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.  12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? (John 3:11-12).

The spiritual blindness of fallen humans reveals the pervasive effects of sin. Paul is very emphatic in Ephesians 2 when he describes the condition of people without Christ…

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins  2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience -  3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind… (Eph 2:1-3).

That is a dark but accurate picture of fallen humans. I am convinced that just as John began with allusions to Genesis and Psalm 2, and a quotation from Isaiah in Chapter 1, in our passage in John 3, the writer is again alluding to Psalm 2, emphasizing that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the Rescuer of whom the Scriptures speak. Psalm 2 begins expressing the state of fallen humanity, not only spiritually lifeless, but in active rebellion against God…

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?  2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his anointed, saying, 3 "Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us."

In Acts 4, after the disciples are arrested and threatened, the believers gather for prayer and apply those verses to the Passion of Christ, and to the persecution of the church. The point is that fallen humans are not neutral to spiritual things, they are spiritually dead, blind to the truth, unable to understand the things of the Spirit of God (I Cor 2:14). Here in John 3:32 it simply says, “He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony.” John wants us to understand the desperate need of fallen humanity. The Big Idea here, is that *faith in Jesus, the Eternal Word, Son of God and Lord of Lords, is the only way to true Life.

II. The Promise: Whoever believes God, taking Him at His Word, is born of the Spirit (33-34; cf. I John 5:10).

33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.  34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.

       The wording here may be a little difficult to follow. 3:32 just said that “no one receives His testimony.” Now v.33 immediately indicates that at least some do, “Whoever receives his testimony…” This is similar construction to what we saw back in the Prologue, in 1:10-12,

10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.  11 He came to his own,  and his own people did not receive him.  12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. 

So here we go from what seems a universal rejection, to a remnant who believes, and receives His testimony…

32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony.  33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.

Receiving His testimony is believing, taking Him at His Word. “Set his seal” here seems to carry the imagery of “sealing” a document or affidavit with a signet ring. From our 21st century American perspective, we might say, we are notarizing our statement of faith that Jesus is the Son, the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We are signing an affidavit that yes, we believe God, He is true. John uses this language of testimony and believing (or not believing!) God in 1 John 5:10-12,   

10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.  11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

And so, if we believe and know that God is true, we receive the testimony of Jesus for what it is, the very Word of God. Jesus utters the very words of God, He is the Word of God, incarnate, and he has the Spirit without measure. As Paul said to the Colossians, “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily…” (Col 2:9).  So, we believe Him, the Great I AM, One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, for *Faith in Jesus, the Eternal Word, Son of God and Lord of Lords, is the only way to true Life. 

III. Two Paths: Life in the Son, or the wrath of God (35-36; cf. Ps 2).

35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.  36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

       A couple of scenes quickly come to mind when the Father verbally spoke from heaven, affirming His love for the Son. 

First, at His baptism: We read in Luke 3:22,   “…the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."

Then, at the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appeared, speaking with Jesus in Luke 9:34-36,   “…a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.  35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!"  36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone…”   

Not Moses, or Elijah, only Jesus… He is the Eternal Son of God, Co-equal with the Father and the Spirit in the Godhead.  The writer to the Hebrews begins with a similar affirmation, 

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,  2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.  3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,  4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs” (Hebrews 1:1-4).

He is preeminent in his sovereignty and omnipotence: the Father has placed all things into his hands (John 3:35).  He is preeminent as the preexistent One, who alone is “from above,” not of this world.  One of the things Jesus will later say to Pilate in this Gospel is that his Kingdom is not “of” this world. Well, no wonder—he is no mere man. Remember how this gospel started, “In the beginning was the Word…”  Preexistent. Eternal. The One who was with God, and who is God, through whom everything was made that was made. 

       This One, God the Son, is preeminent as the One who speaks for God and from God, the One who speaks absolute truth, the One who is the truth. Again Pilate is a foil for Jesus teaching us through the Gospel writer, “What is truth?” he asks. The reader of the Gospel knows better than Pilate, Jesus had earlier said “I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father but by me” (John 14:6). 

He is preeminent in terms of his sovereignty and omnipotence: the Father has placed all things into his hands (35). We read the opening of Psalm 2 earlier, let’s pick up with 2:4…

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.  5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,  6 "As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill."  7 I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you.  8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.  9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."  10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.  11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.  12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. 

In Psalm 2 the Father says, “Ask of me, and I will give your enemies as a footstool for your feet…”  In John the Father has given all things into his hands. The Son of addressed as Messiah and King. Those who resist his reign are destined for wrath (5, 12) and will perish. In fact, if you want to summarize the Big Idea of Psalm 2, I think John 3:36 would do very nicely, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”  Receiving and believing in the Son is the only way to receive life and avoid God’s righteous wrath (3:36). Has God given you eyes to see, ears to hear, a heart to understand? Have you decided to follow Jesus?

 What is God saying to me in this passage?  Faith in the Son, the Eternal Word, Son of God and Lord of Lords, is the only way to True Life. 

What would God have me to do in response to this passage?

1) Two roads diverge in a wood… and you, will you take the road less traveled? Jesus said elsewhere, “The way is narrow that leads to life, and few there are that find it.” By God’s grace, I took the road less traveled. There are only two options, bow to the Son, take Him at His Word, trust Him as your Savior and Lord, or continue under the righteous wrath of Holy God. Have you decided to follow Jesus?

2) Notice the contrast in v.36, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” “Believing” on the one hand, “not obeying” on the other. Belief and obedience go together. Believing means recognizing who He is, and if we believe, we will submit to His authority. There is no room for “easy believism” in the Bible. It is not just saying “Ok, I believe, I’m in.” It means entrusting yourself to Him, our Great God and Savior, confessing that Jesus is your Lord and King. 

3) For those who are His, communion is a celebration, as we remember the love He demonstrated in bearing our sins, in dying as our substitute, and we celebrate His victory over death. We also anticipate His return in glory. Christ crucified, risen, and coming again. In Christ alone my hope is found! AMEN.