Around the world, people have this idea that Christians are
out trying to pressure people into conversions. You let one Hindu in a South
Asian village convert to following Christ, and the entire village will be at
his door wanting to know what those Christians did to him, how they bribed him,
or what methods they used to force him to believe. I suppose it is not
altogether different here. I was reading a book review the other day about a
book that was written to set forth and defend the claims of Christ. The
reviewer said that the book could be improved by removing some of the
heavy-handed attempts to pressure the reader into conversion. So, apparently,
one cannot even state or defend the claims that Jesus Himself made without
being accused of this sort of pressure tactic. And yet, as we study church
history, we find two things occurring. One, there are periods of history in which the church was blinded by its own
might and attempted to use heavy-handedness to force conversions. And, two,
whenever this took place, the results were disastrous for all parties. Force is
an impossible motivation for belief. A person cannot be “forced” to believe,
though they can be “forced” to say that they believe and even to externally
behave as if they believed. But the original beliefs are still present, and the
life-practices based on those original beliefs are going to find a way to work
themselves out, either through underground practices or through religious syncretism
– a melding together of otherwise incompatible beliefs and practices. And this
has happened over and over again throughout the centuries, and the church has
been incredibly weakened and corrupted by it. So, even though the world thinks
of us as a powerful movement seeking forced conversions, hopefully we have
learned that no one wins in that kind of game. Jesus didn’t do it. The early
church didn’t do it. We mustn’t do it. But the world accuses us of doing it
anyway. We seek to persuade by our witness for Jesus in word and deed. But we
do not pressure. It does not work.
The ironic thing is that the world actually employs this
kind of force and pressure upon people to not
believe, to not convert, or, if a
person is already a follower of Christ, to abandon Him. The earliest Christians
were presented with simple options: deny Christ and live, or cling to Him and
die. And in some parts of the world, the pressure is still the same today. Here
in America ,
it is often more subtle. Renounce, or (more often) radically compromise, your
faith and your convictions, and you will be rewarded. Cling to “the faith once
for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3), and you will be criticized,
ostracized, and stigmatized. We all know of situations where this has happened,
and some of us have experienced it personally. In fact, I would say that if you
have lived a consistent Christian life over some period of time, you should have experienced this to some
degree by now. If you haven’t, there can only be one of two problems: you have
already made compromises of the faith that you are perhaps unaware of, or you
are too insulated from unbelievers and need to get out of your holy huddle and
spend some more time with lost people.
While we seek to persuade others to believe, there is a
great pressure placed on people today to disbelieve. And as we see in our text,
this has always been the case throughout history. So, let’s look into this text
and see the elements of persuasion that lead some to believe, and the tactics
of pressure that are employed to prevent others from believing.
I. The elements of persuasion.
I went to an appointment with a new doctor on one occasion,
and as he reviewed my new patient paperwork, he picked up on the fact that I
was a pastor. Turns out he had been a medical missionary. In fact, he had been
a medical missionary in an area I had been to in Kenya . As we talked and shared our
testimonies with one another, I noticed that he made some kind of mark on my
chart. I said, “What’s that?” He said, “I put F.D.F.X. on your chart. That
means, in a code that only I can understand, that you are a fully devoted
follower of Christ, and when you come in, I know that I can speak openly with
you about my faith and about the Lord.” That’s a pretty good system. I like that
code: FDFX. Some of you are FDFXs. But, we need to acknowledge right up front
that as far as we know, thus far in John’s narrative, no one in this passage we
have read today are fully devoted followers of Christ. Yet, several of them
seem to be “almost persuaded.”
Back in verse 32, the chief priests and the Pharisees sent
guards to arrest Jesus. Now, some number of days later, they’ve come back empty
handed, to the obvious disdain of the authorities. “Why did you not bring Him?”
they exclaim. They were given an order, and they’ve had plenty of opportunity,
but they have failed to carry it out.
The response that given by the guards must have come as a
great surprise. The officers say, “Never has a man spoken the way this man
speaks.” It seems that as they went out to take Him, they were actually taken by Him; they could not arrest Him
because they were arrested by Him.
And notice that it was not so much the matter
of His speaking--what He said—that
affected them so much; it was the manner of
His speaking—how He said what He
said—that took hold of them. This was not the first time this had happened. In
the synagogue at Capernaum ,
the people were “amazed at His
teaching; for He was teaching them as one
having authority, and not as the
scribes” (Mk 1:22). As He taught in the synagogue in Nazareth , “all were speaking well of Him, and
wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips” (Lk 4:22). Never
has a man spoken the way the Lord Jesus speaks. It is still true. There hasn’t
been one since Him. But, then again, the reason why there’s never been a man
speak like Him is that He is not merely a man. Though He is fully human, He is
also fully God. There is power in His Words because He is the Word made flesh. His
Word is that which brought the universe into existence. His Word has the
ability to create something from nothing; to uphold all things; to transform
people, things, and situations from the inside out; His word can bring the dead
to life, both physically and spiritually.
The Temple
Guards Temple Guard
Now, not only had Jesus had a persuasive impact on the
Temple Guard, there was another man present among the Sanhedrin’s leaders who
had experienced his own private encounter with Jesus. His name was Nicodemus,
and we first met him in Chapter 3. He had come to Jesus late one evening.
Perhaps it was a mutually convenient time for them to meet casually, but the
possibility cannot be ruled out that he came at night under the cloak of
darkness to avoid being rebuked by his fellow leaders. Do you remember what he
said to Jesus when he came to Him? He said, “Rabbi, we know that You have come
from God as a teacher; for no
one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him” (Jn 3:2). You see,
here is a man being persuaded. But in Nicodemus’ case, unlike the Temple Guards Temple Guard Kingdom of God
Had Nicodemus at this point secretly believed and committed
himself as a follower of Jesus? We do not know. But we know that the words and
works of Jesus were still working on him. We know this because of what he said
to his colleagues who were leading the charge against Jesus. He said, “Our Law
does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing,
does it?” His fellow leaders are convinced that Jesus is a lawbreaker and those
who follow Him are ignorant of the Law, but Nicodemus catches them in hypocrisy
here. Let’s not break the Law to catch the lawbreaker, or ignore the law to
spite those who are ignorant of it. The Law explicitly forbids false accusations
(Ex 23:1) and bearing false witness (Ex 20:16). Judges were commanded to
investigate charges thoroughly (Dt 17:4) and hear matters completely, making judgment
on fair and righteous grounds (Dt 1:16). So, because Nicodemus has been
somewhat persuaded by the words and works of Jesus, he prompts everyone to slow
the process down and to abide by the very Law they are so zealous to enforce on
others. He says, in effect, “Why don’t you guys just listen for yourselves to
what He says, and see for yourselves what He is doing?” He knows that these
things are changing his perspective on Jesus. He suspects that the words and
deeds of Jesus may have a persuasive effect on the other religious leaders as
well.
You know, if you go to a Christian bookstore you can find
dozens, maybe hundreds, of books on how to persuade others to follow Jesus.
Every day there is a conference somewhere in the world that you can go to that
will teach you how to be more effective at it. We get mail and phone calls every
day here wanting to sell us a pack of study guides, some DVDs, or whatever that
is the next biggest and best thing to win more people to Christ. And you know,
some of those things aren’t bad. Some of them are better than others. But,
there is nothing – never has been, never will be ANYTHING – more effective and
more persuasive than presenting people with the words and works of Jesus. Tell
them what He said; tell them what He did. Challenge them to read the Gospels
for themselves, and see for themselves in Scripture what He said and what He
did. We are led by some to believe that we have to be experts in how the
universe functions and answer every question about molecular biology and
quantum physics to persuade people to believe, but that is just so not true. Our
witness is to be focused on Jesus Christ. Tell them what He said; tell them
what He did.
As most of you know, at one point in my life, I was an
atheist. When Christians would try to witness to me, I could argue them into
tears. I could raise questions that no one could answer. And God saved me
anyway—even without answers. I met people who loved me and who talked openly
about things Jesus said and things Jesus did. I began to read the Bible for
myself and I read about the things Jesus said and the things He did. And though
I didn’t have any answers to my questions, I could no longer use them as
excuses to turn away from Jesus Christ. “Never has a man spoken the way this
man speaks.” First we have to hear from Him, and then find out what He has
done. And if you are a follower of Christ, you have the opportunity to share
those things everyday with someone. That’s not pressure. But it is persuasive.
And God might just use the words and works of Jesus, encountered through an
honest reading of Scripture or in a friendly conversation with a Christian, to
persuade some person to repent and believe.
II. The tactics of pressure.
While Nicodemus and the Temple Guards Temple Guard
It was 18 years ago this week that I began my theological
education, and I remember one of my first professors saying, “No one is ready to
preach until he is ready to be thought a fool.” And today, you don’t even have
to be a preacher – just publicly identify yourself as a follower of Christ, or
acknowledge that you are strongly considering Him, and you will be thought a
fool in the eyes of others. The accusation that is cast by the religious
leaders is intended to belittle and demean those who would be followers of
Jesus. They say that they are deceived, ignorant, accursed, and prejudiced.
Notice in verse 47 how the Pharisees say to the Temple Guard
If that tactic is ineffective, we are not surprised to see a
charge of complete ignorance leveled against believers. In verse 48, the
Pharisees say, “No one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him has he?”
In other words, “If Jesus was really the Messiah, if He was anything other than
a charlatan, don’t you think that we
of all people would be following Him?” But no, they aren’t following Him. Who
is following Him? Verse 49 says, “This crowd which does not know the Law.” The
Greek word rendered “crowd” is a word for a “mob”; we might render it “rabble.”
This statement shows how condescendingly the leaders of Israel thought
of the common people. This crowd could easily be led astray because they are so
ignorant! They don’t even know the Law! The Pharisees know the Law, and if
anyone else knew the Law they would never believe in Jesus. They think they
have a monopoly on the truth, and while everyone else may be wrong in their
beliefs and opinions, it is unthinkable that they themselves could be wrong.
And we find this still today. If you believe that Jesus is Lord, that He was
born of a virgin and that He rose from the dead, that the Bible is true, that
God created the world and all that is in it, prepare to be labeled as ignorant.
A person can make any claim whatsoever (no matter how ridiculous) and be taken
seriously by the world – unless that person makes a claim for Christ or the
Word of God. Some of you college students have experienced this in the
classroom – even in the religious studies department. You have heard it said
that religion in general, or Christianity in particular, is just a crutch for
weak-minded people. The default assumption is that if you have any mental sense
about you whatsoever, you could not possibly believe in Jesus.
And their argument intensifies at this point. Those who have
been persuaded by Jesus are said to accursed
here in verse 49. J.B. Phillips suggests we should understand accursed here to mean that this crowd is
“damned anyway.” In other words, why should we listen to what they say about
Jesus; they are accursed and condemned people, and there is a special place in
hell for the likes of them. That is how the religious leaders viewed those who
were favorable toward Jesus. And that is how the follower of Christ will be
viewed today. In our world of tolerance, relativism, and pluralism, all
religious systems and views of morality are considered valid and worthy of a
fair hearing, with the exception of biblical Christianity. Christians are
called intolerant and narrow-minded because we believe that the Bible is true,
and that Jesus is the only way to know God and enter heaven. But we did not
make that message up. That is the message that Jesus Himself proclaimed. We are
told that all other religions are more tolerant and open to the validity of
other messages, but that is simply not true! Don’t think for a moment that
Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, or Buddhism do not have exclusive truth claims. It is
inherent in every belief system. Do you notice that no one is permitted to speak
negatively in public about any belief system whatsoever? And yet if someone
speaks negatively about Jesus or the Christian faith, they are championed as a
hero, their books skyrocket the bestseller list, and suddenly they become a new
voice of authority in society. Who cares what the Christians say? They are a
damnable people anyway. And thus we face the same arrogant condemnation that
the crowd, the Guard, and Nicodemus faced in this text.
Speaking of Nicodemus, we must note how quickly he speaks up
when the Pharisees say, “No one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in
Him.” Almost as if to say, “Not so fast!”, he interjects. Now, he’s not preaching
a sermon or calling the leaders to faith in Christ. He is merely pleading for a
fair trial. And look what it gets him: he is accused of being a prejudiced
bigot. They say, “You are not also from Galilee ,
are you?” In sports, we often accuse the referees or umpires of “home cooking.”
They aren’t calling a fair game because they secretly hope their own favorite
team wins. So, the Pharisees accuse Nicodemus of “home cooking” here. If he is
going to cast his lot with a Galilean, he must be a Galilean himself! They say
essentially, “Look it up!” “Search and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee ” (v52). Now, this is the height of absurdity.
First of all, if they will “look it up,” they will see that there have been a
number of prophets to come from Galilee . Jonah
was certainly a Galilean, and Nahum, Hosea, and the great Elijah may well have
been of Galilean origins. But this is somewhat beside the point. The fact of
the matter is that Jesus is not a Galilean. He was born in Bethlehem , just like the prophet Micah said
that Messiah would be. If they would take the time to investigate Jesus for
themselves, even as they have challenged Nicodemus to investigate the
Scriptures, they would know that.
But you notice their hypocrisy shining through in all of
this. They accuse Nicodemus of speaking favorably about Jesus because he is prejudiced—he
must be a Galilean. But their own prejudice against Galileans is exposed. They
have rejected Jesus on the simple basis that He has, at least recently, resided
in that despicable town. And so it often is that the most outspoken critics of
the Christian faith are actually themselves more prejudiced, hypocritical, and
intolerant than the Christians that they so vehemently belittle. Enemies of the
Gospel continue to pressure those who believe, and those who are being
persuaded to believe, to abandon the Lord Jesus. Jesus said this would happen.
He said, “Blessed are you when people
insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you
because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in
the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matt 5:11-12).
Let them say that you are deceived, you are ignorant, you are accursed, or
whatever else they can come up with. The ancient philosopher Celsus once said
of Christianity: “Let no one come … who has been instructed, or who is wise or
prudent …; but if there be any ignorant, or unintelligent, or uninstructed, or
foolish persons, let them come with confidence…. [T]hey manifestly show that
they desire and are able to gain over only the silly, and the mean, and the
stupid,.”[2]
We are not shamed or silenced by baseless criticisms and
belittling accusations such as these. Rather, we are encouraged by them. We
say, with the Apostle Paul, “that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of
the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to
shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the
despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the
things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are
in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and
sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, ‘Let him who
boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Cor
1:26-31). The Gospel that we proclaim and by which we live is foolishness to
the wisdom of the world. This must not surprise us. Instead we must go on
proclaiming what Christ has said and what Christ has done, for this Gospel is the
world’s only hope. As Paul says in 2 Cor 5, “Knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men.” We do not, and we cannot
pressure them, but yes, out of love for God and love for a lost and dying
world, we do seek to persuade. Paul says, “we are ambassadors for Christ, as
though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be
reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the
righteousness of God in Him.”
We must stand with confidence in the face of the pressures
of a world that is increasingly hostile to Christ and say with confidence,
“Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.” Hear what He has to say;
consider what He has done, and then formulate your opinion. Though the Gospel
of a crucified Christ is foolishness to the world, it is by that foolishness
that we are being saved, and by that same Gospel the world stands condemned
already because of their unbelief. As William Barclay said so well: “To stand
up for [Jesus] may bring us mockery and unpopularity; it may even mean hardship
and sacrifice. But the fact remains that Jesus said He would confess before His
Father the man who confessed Him on earth, and deny before His Father the man
who denied Him on earth. Loyalty to Christ may produce a cross on earth, but it
brings a crown in eternity.”[3]
[1] Andreas
Kostenberger, John (Baker Exegetical
Commentary on the New Testament; Grand
Rapids : Baker, 2004), 237-238.
[2] http://www.bluffton.edu/~humanities/1/celsus.htm.
Accessed July 6, 2013.
[3] William
Barclay, The Gospel of John (Volume
1; Daily Study Bible Series; Philadelphia: Westminster, 1975), 254.
