(Audio)
my judgment is just,
because I do not seek my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
Our judgment is always a little bit skewed by self will. Only Jesus is so completely about the will of another that his judgment is beyond unassailable. It is precisely for this reason that the Father trusts Jesus so completely to accomplish his work.
For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life,
so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes.
Nor does the Father judge anyone,
but he has given all judgment to the Son,
so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.
In giving honor to the Son the Father doesn't detract from honor due to him, for any honor that accrues to the Son is also due to the Father. Similarly, anything for which the Father can be honored is also there to be honored in the Son. This is how selfless and noncompetitive relationships are meant to be.
The Father and the Son both want us to have life. They have decided to reveal that word of life to us through the Son.
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word
and believes in the one who sent me
has eternal life and will not come to condemnation,
but has passed from death to life.
It isn't just a word of power or command that causes the dead to rise. It is a revelation about the inner life of God, the dynamic between the Father and the Son, in the Holy Spirit, that, when believed, has the power to give life. Our old selfish way of living cannot survive death. Jesus is himself the word that reveals to us a new and better way.
Along the ways they shall find pasture,
on every bare height shall their pastures be.
They shall not hunger or thirst,
nor shall the scorching wind or the sun strike them;
For he who pities them leads them
and guides them beside springs of water.
Jesus comes to reveal the heart of God, the Good Shepherd to us. It is this revelation of love that has the power to give new life. We often feel forsaken and neglected. But this word is available to us this morning. The reward of life everlasting is something we begin to taste even now, simply by belief.
Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you.
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