Sermon preached by Rev. Brian Goodall B.D. in Dewsbury Baptist Church, Sunday 30^th January 2005, Time: 10.45 a.m.

Series: Answers of Jesus to Job

Title: What’s Life All About?

Text: Job 14:14; John 10:10

Introduction

Recently in Church, we’ve been looking together at the book of Job, in the Old Testament. Job is the story of a very good man, good and righteous in every way, who suffered incredible loss for reasons that were completely beyond his control. He lost his property, his livestock, his family and finally his health. The book of Job tells his story and asks lots of questions, especially the question ‘Why?’

The book itself doesn’t give much of an answer – it’s mainly to make people think. But the whole Bible, especially the New Testament, addresses those questions and does give us some very clear answers.

One of the questions Job asked was a very far-reaching question about life: ‘If a man dies, will he live again?’ (Job 14:14)

Now it just happens that there is a whole book of the New Testament written to answer that question – the fourth Gospel, the Gospel of John. 26 pages in my Bible – that’s fairly compressed into two columns, so let’s say a booklet of 50 pages. You could read it this afternoon!

1. In him was life – John 1:4

John tells us nothing about the birth and early life of Jesus; he leaves that to Matthew and Luke. He starts his short book by getting straight to the point: in him was life.

Of course, the same could be said about everyone: in him or her was life. This should perhaps be written: in him was LIFE! Because John was using normal human life as a kind of metaphor to say that there was something very special about Jesus. He was not just alive in a physical, biological sense – he was alive to God, and when he came into the world he brought that life of God with him, and that life was like a light to show people the way.

2. John’s purpose in writing was that his readers might believe and have LIFE

– John 20:31

Each of the Gospels that we have in the New Testament tells a different part of the story. They blend together and complement each other, but each one presents a particular aspect of the life of Jesus with a particular purpose in mind. John’s purpose was to communicate the news of Jesus to people who were absorbed in the worldview of the late first century – so that they might believe in Jesus.

As he wrote, he related certain stories and incidents, so that people could grasp who Jesus was, and so that they could believe and put their trust in him.

He says quite plainly that there were many other things Jesus said and did, and they would all be interesting, but these are written down to help you believe.

3. I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full – John 10:10

One of the incidents John chose to spell out in some detail was the time when Jesus described himself as the Good Shepherd. Everyone knew what shepherds were like, how they lived, how important the sheep were to them.

Many, who were familiar with the Old Testament, would know how God was spoken of as the Shepherd (Psalm 23). Jesus compared himself with bad hired hands, who would only look after their own safety, and not care about the sheep.

He described his role as being like the door, or the doorkeeper, inviting and welcoming people in so that they might be part of his kingdom. He said, I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

4. Jesus described this life in terms of knowing God – John 17:3

This life with a capital L, that John’s Gospel brings us to again and again, is sometimes described as eternal life. People think of this as life after death, which is, of course, something Christians believe in. But this is not just a matter of time or length – it’s all about quality.

In the seventeenth chapter of John’s Gospel, there is a prayer that Jesus prayed, all about the people he had come into the world to rescue, and those who would follow him. In it he sums up what this LIFE is all about. Eternal life begins here and now, and it’s all about knowing God.

This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent

Conclusion

How to get this life with a capital L? You need to be born into it – born again, born from above.

Not a physical experience, but a spiritual experience – a whole new beginning.