FHBC Sermon Notes

What is a disciple?
This sermon focuses of one of the more difficult passages in John.

John uses the word disciples to describe all the crowd, but then clarifies the many of the word, by telling how it was that Jesus exposes those who are not true disciples are. He even points to the chosen twelve to demonstrate that even the closest are not necessary true.

To be a disciple is to be a student. To become an imitation of the one they were following. Ultimately this would mean they they would have to follow him, even to great suffering, to the cross.

In the first four chapters of John there is some reservation about Him, but from 5-7 it becomes outright hostile, and here that comes even from His own disciples. These disciples wanted an easy path.

Attributes of a genuine disciples

1. They recognize Jesus for who he actually is.
The false disciples in this passage were looking for a messianic political savior to free them from the oppression of the Romans. Christ is saying here that they must see their messiah would be convicted and crucified, killed, by the very Romans he was to be freeing them from. They are offended by this.

Peter in this passage recognizes Jesus' true nature, his nature as God. He understood that they would find no joy, no person or thing of greatest nature than He. (similar to the passage in Matthew 16)

One of the hard things about this is that the only Jesus that we can believe is not our own version of Jesus, but the one that is revealed here in Scripture. If we add to that, if we make scripture second to our own feelings on the matter, then it is a different Jesus we are following, and we are not true disciples.


2. Receives God's provision for salvation
Ask the question why the false disciples grumbled?

For food, the political freedom, the benefits of his miracles? They wanted the external benefits only. So when Jesus says that it is a spiritual freedom he came, they did not want this.

They did not want to give away their control. Just like politicians and leaders, we generally want leaders that do what we want. Since we elect our leaders, often approach Jesus, not acting like we need to make him Lord, but instead that we are electing him as our God. This implies that we can elect a new savior if it pleases us. We are not the ones doing the electing here I think

They did not understand the reality of the cross. Salvation by being killed, through capital punishment? This they could not accept.

Peter's answer - Acts 2 his first sermon is to point to what Jesus points to here. The cross!