KASUMIGAOKA
2017/12/24
SERMON: “Abundant Life in Christ” 「キリストによる豊かないのち」
TEXT: John 10:1-10
I. INTRODUCTION Christmas is celebrated in many parts of the world in memory of the birth of Jesus Christ. Even many non-Christians consider this natural, because Jesus was a very influential person and the founder of the Christian religion. If we celebrate the birthday of a US president or a Japanese emperor, why not celebrate the birthday of Jesus of Nazareth? Many Christians celebrate Christmas by re-telling the story of Jesus’ birth, which is recorded in the Gospels of Mathew and Luke. Today, I would like to think about why Jesus came into our world. Jesus Himself says in John 10:10, “I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.” Have you ever considered what that means? What is this “abundant life” that Jesus says He came to give us? Recently I was asked to draw a picture of my life, with important “ups” and “downs” shown on a graph. One thing was clear: my life was not a straight line from beginning to end! Most of you would probably discover the same thing about your own life. There were times when I felt joy or peace or satisfaction, and other times when I felt anxious, sad, or discouraged. What is it that brings happiness and contentment to our lives? Jesus said that He came to bring us the best possible life—“abundant life”! What is this “abundant life” that He offers us? Let’s look more closely at Jesus’ words as we think about this question. Unless we understand what this abundant life is, we won’t appreciate why Jesus came, or why anyone remembers His birth at all!
II. “SOMETHING” EVERYONE NEEDS
Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and may have it abundantly [‘to the full’].” The Beatles once sang, “All You Need Is Love!” It was a catchy tune and lyrics, but it was obviously untrue! We need many things in life. Everyone is seeking something. We all have physical needs like food and water and clothing and a place to live. We may need medicines or other health care. But besides our physical needs, we have emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs. When we feel sad or afraid, we need family to comfort us. When we feel lonely, we need our friends. But sometimes we do not understand what we need most. We may think that something will satisfy our need or fill our “emptiness,” but later we learn that it does not satisfy us. The prophet Isaiah wrote about this problem long ago. The Lord God spoke through His prophet to the people of Israel in Isaiah 55:2: “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to Me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.” This passage was not really talking about bread and food for the body. It was talking about the fullness of a life in eternal fellowship with God. The next verse in Isaiah 55:3 confirms this: “Give ear and come to Me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, My faithful love promised to David.” God is able to satisfy our lives with His presence and to give us His peace and joy. That is something that all people need, even if they do not realize their need.
The immediately previous passage in John’s Gospel gives us the background to understand what Jesus says about “abundant life.” John 9 contains the well-known story about a blind man whom Jesus heals. You might think that a blind man would understand what he needed for a happy, abundant life. Of course, he needed to become able to see! But this man’s condition was rather unusual. He was born blind. He had never been able to see anything with his eyes. He had never seen a flower, the blue sky, a majestic mountain, a green field, or a beautiful sunset. How could he want something that he had never experienced or even imagined? He did not know that he needed to be given sight! Nevertheless, Jesus gave him what he needed. He gave him eyes to see. Only after Jesus opened his eyes was he able to see everything clearly for the first time.
The abundant life that Jesus offers us is, in a way, like the vision he gave to the man born blind. Until we begin to experience that life, we cannot understand how wonderful it is! We do not know what we have been missing. The man Jesus healed suddenly understood what he had needed all his life. He knew that Jesus had given him what he needed. When the Pharisees questioned him about Jesus, the man replied, “one thing I do know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25). When Jesus healed him, at that instant he understood how great his need had been, when he was blind. And he understood how great the gift was that Jesus had given him. Jesus had given him a new life—an abundant life. And if Jesus could give him eyes to see, He could give him more, besides. The man born blind could now see, and he believed that Jesus is the Christ–his Savior—and he worshiped Him (9:38).
There were others who witnessed the miracle of the blind man’s healing. But they did not share the joy of the man who could now see. They did not believe Jesus or trust Him. Even though the Pharisees were considered the most “righteous” sect of Judaism, they could not appreciate what Jesus had given the blind man. Jesus said that they were “blind” in their sinfulness. Even when they saw the wonderful work that Jesus had performed for the man born blind, they did not ask Jesus for anything for themselves. If the Pharisees had asked Jesus to help them believe, Jesus could have helped them, too. But they did not ask Jesus for His help. They thought Jesus had nothing to offer to them. In the end, Jesus said to the Pharisees, “But now you say, ‘We see’; your sin remains” (9:41).
Jesus has something that everyone needs, but not everyone knows that he needs it. Only one who follows Jesus will learn how great Jesus’ gift is. If you follow Jesus, He will give you eyes to see the kingdom of God, and a heart that will rejoice in your new life as a citizen of that kingdom. But only those who trust and follow Jesus can experience the abundant life that He came to give us.
III. A NEW LIFE IN GOD’S COVENANT LOVE
The Beatles were almost right about one thing: it is impossible to enjoy a full, abundant life without “love,” that is, without being in a “relationship” with Someone. But it is not a relationship with just any another person that will bring lasting fullness to your life. In John 10, Jesus explains that the abundant life is a life of trusting God. In this passage Jesus uses a parable that appears frequently in the Old Testament, based on the relationship between a flock of sheep and their shepherd. In verses 1-10, Jesus asks the Pharisees to consider how the sheep trust their shepherd. It is because of this trust that the sheep will follow the shepherd and enjoy the abundant life—or green pasture—that the shepherd can provide.
The point that Jesus first illustrates with this parable is the flock’s need for security. In verses 1-5 Jesus pictures a secure sheepfold. Sheep were usually gathered together each night into an enclosure with only one doorway, with the shepherd himself guarding the entrance. In this way the sheep could be protected from wild beasts, as well as from human thieves. Jesus says that the shepherd will enter into the sheepfold through the proper door, but there were others—thieves and robbers—who would try to enter by some other way. The true shepherd was well-known and trusted by the doorkeeper, as well as by the sheep. So, when he comes, v. 3 says, “to him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.” The contrast between the true shepherd and the thief emphasizes the familiar and trusting relationship between the sheep and the shepherd. The sheep recognize his voice and follow him. On the other hand, he knows each one of them, and calls them by name. The sheep feel safe in the presence of the shepherd. “But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” The bond between a shepherd and his sheep, therefore, both unites the flock with their true shepherd, and distinguishes between true and false shepherds. Verse 6 says that, “Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what He was telling them.”
Jesus, therefore, proceeds to explain the meaning of the parable to them. His opening words indicate how important it is for them to understand His meaning. “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep.” Again in v. 9 He repeats, “I am the gate.” Some scholars have suggested that Jesus means that He Himself is the shepherd who guards the entrance of the sheepfold with His own body. If the shepherd places his own body across the entrance, no one can enter or leave without the shepherd’s knowledge and permission. What Jesus is explaining to the Pharisees should be clear: Jesus will guard His sheep by risking His own life in order to protect theirs. But Jesus is not talking about sheep that He is watching over to protect from their enemies; He is talking about how He will protect all of the people who put their trust in Him. He knows each one who follows Him, and He will do whatever is necessary to protect His own.
It has not been so in the case of Israel’s earlier leaders. Even as early as Ezekiel 34, the leaders of Israel were described as unfaithful “shepherds” who neglected their flocks and exposed them to wild beasts. Such former “shepherds” cared only for themselves. Therefore, in Ezekiel 34:2-5, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals.” But Jesus is not like any of those former leaders of Israel. “All who have come before Me are thieves and robbers,” Jesus says in v. 8, “but the sheep have not listened to them. (9) I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved.” Those who listen to Jesus’ voice, who trust and follow Him, will be safe. They will follow Him to the pasture where they will be happy. The language Jesus uses recalls the words of David in Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters; He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Jesus concludes in v. 10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
This is the reason Jesus gives for His coming into the world. This is the reason for the incarnation of the Son of God. He came to fill up our lives with His own goodness and grace and truth. He came to give us a life that we have always yearned for, but could never quite imagine. Most importantly, Jesus came to bring us into the safety of God’s kingdom. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16). This “everlasting life” in all its fullness of joy and peace is for those who believe in Jesus Christ. It is His gift to us who put our hope and trust in Him.
IV. CONCLUSION
In this simple parable Jesus explains these three things: First, there is an abundant life that only Jesus Himself can give to us. In this world we see only dim shadows and hear faint echoes of the joy and peace that God intends for us to enjoy. “But just as it is written, ‘Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and that which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him’” (1 Cor. 2:9). That is the abundant life that Jesus can give to you.
Second, we must realize that there are dangers and enemies from which only Jesus can protect us. He will guard us and keep us so safe that we can say with David, “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evil, for You are with me” (Psalm 23:4). He guards us with His life, so that we will have eternal life, and have it abundantly.
Third, the only way to avoid the dangers that threaten us in this world and to enjoy the safety and abundance of life with Christ is to entrust our lives to Him. We must believe Him and follow Him. “Truly, truly, I say to you,” Jesus said in John 6:47, “he who believes has eternal life.” People seek many good things in this life: love, family, productive jobs, a good income, health, beauty, friends, honor, etc. But Jesus promises an abundant life that does not depend upon any of these things. Jesus Himself had no wife, no children, no home, and was not particularly handsome. He was scorned and despised by many of the elite of His day. But He knew the glory of God’s kingdom and He enjoyed the abundant life of constant fellowship with His Father in heaven. We can’t even imagine the peace, the joy, the glory, and the contentment of that marvelous life, until He opens our eyes and brings us into that kingdom with Him. Faith, too, is God’s gift. By the faith God supplies, we trust in Christ and receive His gift of life. I pray that you, too, will know the abundant life that Christ offers to all who put their trust in Him.