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Making Much of the Father

October 6, 2024 Ben Daniel John 12:44-50

John 12:44-50 relays the last public speech of Jesus before He faced the Cross. It is a powerful few verses representing a significant transitional moment that can be understood in terms of believing, seeing, hearing, and speaking.

Believing – v. 44

  • What we do with Jesus is the clearest test of what we do with God.
  • Jesus was sent with a purpose from another place.
  • He is the only gateway back to God – belief in Jesus is the gateway to the Father.

Seeing – vv. 45-46

  • He is the light
  • He enables us to see well, especially in revealing the Father
  • Some will still not see
  • Light was the first created work, but four days in – GOD is light.

Hearing – vv. 47-48

  • Jesus is the most crisis-causing person in history
  • This is not a plea to unbelievers
  • He is not the Judge; the Father is.
  • Jesus came to save.
  • We see meticulous Sovereignty in play, and it causes us to be extremely grateful to be loved by God.

Speaking – v. 49

  • Jesus SPEAKS publicly; He SAYS things in more intimate settings
  • God’s commandment is eternal life.
  • There are only two ultimate eternal destinations.
  • He made a way for us.

Jesus made much of His Father. Life with the Father looks like this, and God draws people to it.

C.S. Lewis — ‘I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.’

Reflection Prompters / Exercises

  1. Ask yourself, “What do I do with Jesus?”  How is this a test of what you do with the Father?

  2. In what ways has the Father enlightened you regarding a confusing situation?

  3. How do you understand the balance between Jesus coming to save and God drawing people to Himself?

  4. What does “eternal life” mean to you?

  5. Truths to write down, meditate on, and pray over:

  • We often deal with many “I don’t knows” in life, and that’s okay.
  • Jesus is my gateway to the Father.
  • The life Jesus lived in connection with His Father is available to me, too.
  • I want to believe, see, hear, and speak in alignment with Jesus.
  • (From the worship set) 🎶 God, You’re So Good, You’re So Good to Me