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      "The Messiah's Autobiography"
      John 12:44-50
      Theme:       A summary of Jesus’ teachings clearly shows that He is the only Savior, providing men with the dependable message of salvation.

        1. His PRIVILEGE: I am the standard of god – 12:44-45

          1. Faith in Me Is Properly Placed – v. 44

            1. John is here providing us with an "epilogue" – that is, a summary of Jesus’ public teachings at a point where Jesus’ public ministry ends.
            2. Thus, the verses of our text here provide us with a summary of what Jesus consumed Himself with preaching as he regularly "cried out and said …" throughout the three years of His public ministry.
            3. As such, they represent a "highlight reel" of what was most ardently on Jesus heart.
            4. The first thing that we find is that Jesus wanted us to understand the privileged role He enjoyed – He was the exact representation of God – cp. John 1:18; Hebrews 1:3
            5. He doesn’t set Himself against God at all – vying for a collateral position – since He Himself is God: "He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me." – cp. Philippians 2:6
            6. Thus, to believe in Christ Jesus was to believe in the Father because they are One.

          2. Focus on Me is Properly Pointed – v. 45

            1. The second issue raised repeatedly by Christ is that He was not merely a prophet calling people to return to God – He was God calling people to come to Him.
            2. He states "He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me" – demonstrating that to see Christ is to see God; to believe in Christ is to believe in God; to follow Christ is to follow God; to reject Christ is to reject God.
            3. Jesus repeatedly informed us that He Himself was the standard of God because He was God Himself!

        2. His priority: I am the savior of men - 12:46-48

          1. Regard for Me Leads to Consecration – v. 46

            1. The next issue repeatedly raised throughout Christ’s career of preaching was that "I have come as Light into the world"
            2. The idea of Light conveys the righteousness, purity and glory that characterizes God coming to abide in the midst of men to illuminate the darkest crevices of sinful hearts and draw men to come to repentance.
            3. His holiness and glory manifest caused great trauma to those who continually embrace their sinfulness because of the exposure of their sin – it became all the more blatant – cp. John 3:19-20
            4. However, "everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness" – but comes to the Light whereby they are able to view the glory of God and perceive the issues of life.
            5. Here he tells us that the great priority of His coming into the world was to provide exactly this deliverance from darkness – that through Him men might be delivered from darkness.

          2. Rejection of Me Leads to Condemnation – vv. 47-48

            1. However, as completely as those who come to Him by faith are blessed with consecration, those who reject Him are brought into condemnation.
            2. His role during His first advent was not to judge men – but to deliver them – "If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world."
            3. However, this does not mean that men who reject Christ will not be judged – they certainly will.
            4. "He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judged him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day" – demonstrates that all men will be judged on the basis of what they have done with Jesus Christ and His Word.
            5. Jesus hereby assures us of three things:
              1. The Day of Reckoning Is Coming: There will assuredly be a day of reckoning – "will judge him at the last day."
              2. The Damnation of Sinners Is Genuine: That last day will be a day of discrimination on the basis of how a person has responded to God’s Word – "will judge him"
              3. The Determinant in Judgment is God’s Word: It will be the Word of Christ that stands as the judge over a man – "the word I spoke is what will judge …"

        3. His purpose: i am the spokesman for god – 12:49-50

          1. My Message Is Divinely Determined – v. 49

            1. He then gives the basis for the Word of God being the determinant in judgment – "For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak."
            2. Thus, Jesus was constantly reiterating the fact that what He was saying was something that God had given as a command – both to Him to say and, to those who heard to believe.
            3. Jesus purpose in this verse was to impress upon us the awfulness of our sin in refusing His words: in doing so, we are offending the Father Himself, for His are the very words that the Son has spoken to us.
            4. Thus, to refuse to believe is to disobey the commandment given to Christ and through Christ that we believe in Him:

          2. My Message Is a Divine Demand – v. 50

            1. Thus, Jesus teachings are not optional moralization to be evaluated as to their relevant value.
            2. Rather, God has not given us an "invitation" for men to act on at our pleasure, but a "commandment" that we disobey at their own impending peril –

              3. "…dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus." - 2 Thessalonians 1:8

              "For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner?" - 1 Peter 4:17-18

            3. Jesus puts it this way, "I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me."
            4. That is, he is saying that because the consequence of how a person responds to the message I’m delivering will determine their eternal destiny, I am as faithful to the commandment given to Me by the Father as I can be.

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