May 20, 2018

Kent Moorlach - The Promised Fountain (John 7:37-43)

Pastor: Reverend Kent Moorlach Series: Guest Preachers Topic: Guest Preacher Scripture: John 7:37–43

First Reading: Ezekiel 47:1-12

Second Reading: Matthew 11:2-15

Sermon Text: John 7:37-43

To summarize today's sermon is to appreciate how the gospels proclaim that Jesus IS the Christ and is Lord of all! Yet, the gospels accomplish this in ways that are so deeply connected to the Old Testament covenants and prophecies that we would miss the impact of Jesus' ministry in the New Testament if we had no knowledge of the details of the Old Testament. Very early in the Old Testament, the covenant people of God were trained to expect the day of "The Anointed One" - God's divine servant, set apart to redeem God's chosen people. However, he was to come with so many expected requirements that many refused to embrace Jesus as THIS messiah. Repeatedly, we read statements like, "…there was a division among the people because of him" (John 7:43).

The gospel of Matthew was written to a particular audience; so were the gospels of Mark and Luke. The gospel of John has a unique place among the gospels, stating clearly, "but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name" (John 20:31). This verse is in keeping with John's goal of clearly revealing that Jesus completely fulfilled the Old Testament "Jewish Eschatological Hope." Furthermore, John proclaims that Jesus' ministry exceeds all the expectations for God's promised Anointed One -- a careful reading of the Messiah's job description in the Old Testament would sufficiently point us to Jesus, the Christ. In fact, Jesus' "anointing" has a special application to the life of every one who bears the name "Christian," since we have all been anointed by water and the Spirit.

We should also note that in the gospels, clarifying statements are made to further explain the fullness of Jesus' ministry for our present "Messianic Age." John 7:39 is one such example, "Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given…." Verses like this highlight the new "expectation" of Messiah Jesus. Just as he was first expected to be accompanied with the unquenchable flowing of fountains, streams, and ravines, the Christian today should expect the "living water…welling up to eternal life" (John 4).