Title: You Will Live too (John 14:19)
Contents
Title: You Will Live
Text: John 14:19
My dear brothers and sisters, in today's text, Jesus is saying, "I have lived." Let's find another passage in the Bible that can help explain these two short words. “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them” (Matthew 18:20).
Today we are gathered here in the name of Jesus. Not because we are worthy of fellowship with the Lord, but because He wants to pay the price of His precious blood to have fellowship with us. When the Lord came into the world, He said, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden. I will give you rest." The Lord did not merely speak of this calling and promise, but he proved it to us through his whole life and death on the cross. By personally fulfilling this calling and promise, Jesus prepared for the whole world fellowship with us as our Lord or as our Good Teacher. The Lord has brought us here now. And right now, he is among us at this time, saying, "I have lived", which is the word of truth. As we have heard through the gospel, the Lord is not in the grave, but He is with us because He is risen. The Lord wants us to hold on to this fact, “I have lived.”
1. It is clear that when the Lord says, "I have lived," he has a much better meaning than I or any of us have said, "I have lived." In fact, isn't our life so miserable that it cannot even be compared to the life of the Lord? Your affirmation of "I have lived" leads directly to the words "Ye will live". Therefore, when the Lord says, "I have lived," He is speaking of the redemption of our lives. In order for us to clearly understand today's text, we have to observe the life of Jesus, which is completely different and incomparable to ours.
⑴ "I lived":
When Jesus said these words, he meant "I live." We must take this fact very seriously and literally. As the eternal God who created all things, He could enjoy and live in this world, but He lived the same life as ours in order to become our Lord.
(2) "I lived"
This verse also implies that Jesus “lived my life for you.” The Lord lived His life out of love for us, and He is saying that without us, His life is of no avail that He is the Son of God. In order to save us from the world, who live an evil and miserable life full of sorrow, anger, despair, and sin, the Lord lived a divine life with a physical body just like ours.
⑶ "I lived"
This verse also means that Jesus lived a human life as the true Son of God. The Lord is telling us now: "Truly, my life is a weak, lonely, and tempted life that must die in the same shame as you. How could that be? Maybe I have prepared something better for me than you guys. Or I am silent about the existence of my wretched body. I may have endured it with rebellion, but not as punishment. If I had done that, I would not have wanted to be like you and I would have abandoned you. I would have given up living in God's mercy. I would have denied my true longing. That is, to become a son of God."
⑷ "I lived"
Finally, this verse means that the Lord lived His life without opposition and rebellion. The Lord lived, accepting that all foolishness, wickedness, wrath, and reproach had been laid upon His shoulders, both for us and for the world. The Lord lived His life in obedience to bearing the burdens as the Father had given them. The Lord has changed and renewed every aspect of the human world in His life. He has turned our ruin into redemption, our sins into righteousness, and death into life. This was done so that we might be born again in the Lord and stop seeking our own glory to glorify God, and so that we may grow into people who are truly pleasing to God. This is how Jesus appeared to his disciples and others on Easter morning.
2. "You too will live"
(1) "Ye will live" The important thing to remember from this verse is that this is not what we are invited to do. For us, this does not simply mean that we have been given the opportunity to live such a life, but it is a promise, "You too will live." It's a proclamation of simple facts about our future. As thunder follows lightning, the fact that “you will live” also follows the saying, “I have lived.” So, those who truly understand the meaning of "I lived" can easily understand the sarcastic meaning of "Ye will live, too." That is, our future is a life of true righteousness and holiness that comes from the life of the Lord. It means to live in joy, not in sorrow, in life, not in death. By our participation in the life of the Lord, we can look forward to our future.
(2) When we say "I have lived" and "You will live" at the same time, the important fact given to us is that the Lord is our present. In other words, our dark past can no longer bind us. The Lord has lifted us up from the past because He poured out that divine life for us. The only thing that matters to us at this moment is that the life of Jesus is our present. From the fact of this truth we can continue our journey into the future, which grows out of our present life.
We must accept this gift from the Lord. Brothers and sisters, please realize that none of us can help ourselves and that we cannot gain anything on our own. I want you to know that the law of sin and death is in control of everything that human powers try to achieve. We don't have to try to catch anything. We simply need to receive what lies before us. Everything is ready for us. We just have to accept what has already been established. All we need to do is to see what is unfolding before us, and we only need to listen to the Word that has been given to us. We don't have to hide our hands in pockets or clench our fists, we just need to reach out. Instead of going backwards like foolish humans, we just need to move forward.
The Lord's words, "I have lived," have no effect without our answers. In our minds, "I will live", "I can live." You must answer to the Lord at this moment, “I want to live like that.” For me, the Lord came to this world wearing the spring of the flesh, died on the cross for me, and rose again for me. Also, believe that you have prepared everything for me.
Last but not least, none of us have been excluded from this invitation. We must remember that this Easter morning we are those who have received the mercy of God who share in the life of the risen Lord from the dead. We must humbly but courageously believe that we are the Lord's children, born again in the Lord and living with the living hope, "You too will live." Hallelujah! +